Normally, a chair of a House committee is not removed by the Speaker unless something extraordinary occurs. “The Ohio Republican has been an outspoken advocate for Ukraine funding and other hawkish national security stances,” wrote Politico. I’m inclined to see this as bad news for Ukraine, but other factors may have been at play.
Source: Politico
Speaker Mike Johnson removed Rep. Mike Turner as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday, saying he wanted to give the panel a “fresh start” in a new Congress and with a new president.
But conservative hard-liners in the House and other Republicans loyal to President-elect Donald Trump had been pressing Johnson for months to remove the Ohio Republican. And Johnson cited Trump as a reason for the ouster when the speaker met with Turner Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the conversation who was granted anonymity to describe it.
Turner told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan that Johnson had cited “concerns from Mar-a-Lago” as the reason for the decision.
Mike Johnson told a different story, of course.
Commenting to reporters, Johnson deflected blame away from the returning president, saying, “This is not a President Trump decision; this is a House decision.” He also said the decision was “no slight” to Turner, who had “performed valiantly in a difficult time under difficult circumstances.”
Since Mike Johnson is a lying little weasel and only serves as Speaker by professing his undying fealty to Trump, I’m inclined to believe Mike Turner’s version of events rather than Johnson’s fairytale.
Speaker Johnson on removing Mike Turner as intel chair: “This is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision, and this is no slight whatsoever to our outgoing chairman. He did a great job.” pic.twitter.com/lFparUcxnA
— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) January 16, 2025
I spoke with House intel chair Mike Turner (R-OH) who told me that Speaker Johnson has fired him as chair of the committee overseeing the intelligence community. Johnson cited “concerns from Mar a Lago” as justification for the removal.
Rep Jim Himes (D-CT) tells CBS that this…— Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) January 15, 2025
