US House Speaker Johnson removes Rep. Turner as intelligence committee chair

House Speaker Mike Johnson has removed Republican Mike Turner from his position as chair of the House Intelligence Committee for the 119th Congress.

While the speaker has the authority to appoint members of the committee, the move marks a significant change among the leadership of a key oversight panel just days before Donald Trump is sworn in as president for the second time, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

The speaker denied Wednesday that the president-elect urged him to remove Turner as the panel’s chair, telling reporters that they would learn Thursday who he would select as the Ohio Republican’s replacement.

“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,” Johnson said. “The intelligence community and everything related to (the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence), it needs a fresh start. And that’s what this is about. Nothing else.”

A source familiar with Johnson’s thinking told CNN that the speaker wanted to bring in his own chairman of the committee, just as then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy did in initially naming Turner to the role. Turner was not told in the meeting that it was Trump’s decision to remove him, the source added.

In a statement, Turner said he was “very proud to have served” as chairman.

“There are great members on the Committee, and I’m honored to have served with them,” Turner said. “Under my leadership, we restored the integrity of the Committee and returned its mission to its core focus of national security. The threat from our adversaries is real and requires serious deliberations.

Calling Turner a “good man,” Johnson said Wednesday the congressman would continue to be his “appointee with everything regarding to NATO.”

“It’s a new Congress. We just need fresh horses in some of these places, but I’m a Mike Turner fan. He’s done a great job. He performed valiantly in a difficult time under difficult circumstances,” Johnson said. “I have nothing but positive things to say.”

News.Az