WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday fired the Republican chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, an outspoken supporter of aid to Ukraine and holding other positions with President-elect Donald Trump Inconsistent views.
Johnson told reporters late Wednesday that Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, would no longer lead the committee, which oversees the nation’s intelligence agencies and has outsized influence over law enforcement and foreign policy. During Trump’s first term, the committee became a hotbed of partisanship as its powers were used to aid the then-president. Johnson also gave two highly sought-after Trump allies seats on the panel last year.
Johnson said he made the decision to oust Turner because “the intelligence community and everything related to (the committee) needs a fresh start.”
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The Republican speaker, who is close to Trump, said he would soon announce a new chairman of the committee.
Johnson went on to praise Turner and said he would play an important role in cooperation with NATO. But Turner’s foreign policy stance conflicts with the incoming president, who will take office next week in the White House with a vision to reshape the federal government’s intelligence and law enforcement capabilities. Trump has chosen fervent loyalists to lead agencies with vast surveillance powers.
“Under my leadership, we have restored the integrity of the commission and redirected its mission toward a core focus on national security,” Turner said in a statement. “The threats from our adversaries are real and require serious consideration.”
Turner also last year pushed back against Trump’s false claim that Haitian immigrants in his Ohio district ate pets.
Punchbowl News first reported that Turner had been relieved of his duties as chairman.
Rep. Jim Himes, the committee’s top Democrat, said in a statement that Turner was “a no-nonsense, security-focused lawmaker committed to America’s national security and thoughtful oversight of the intelligence community.”
“Chairman Turner’s ouster makes our country even less safe and is a terrible omen for the future,” Himes added.
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Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed.
