Johnson ousts Turner as Intelligence Chairman, bowing to Trump

Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday removed Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio from the helm of the House Intelligence Committee, in a shake-up that signaled he intends to align the pivotal national security panel more closely with President-elect Donald J. Trump, ‘The New York Times’ reports.

Mr. Turner, who emerged from a meeting with the speaker on Wednesday afternoon looking furious, has told people that Mr. Johnson informed him his ouster was the result of a request from Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with those conversations.

The president-elect has long been suspicious of the intelligence community, claiming that its members were part of a politicized “deep state” that was out to get him. In jettisoning a Republican seen as insufficiently loyal to Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson appeared to be paving the way for the president-elect to have tighter control over the committee that oversees intelligence matters.

Mr. Turner, a mainstream conservative who has represented southwestern Ohio in the House for more than two decades, has at times been critical of Mr. Trump’s actions. He broke with the majority of his party on Jan. 6, 2021, and voted to certify Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s 2020 election. He has also been a leading proponent of supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, breaking with the “America First” stance of the president-elect and many others in his party.

“This is not a President Trump decision; this is a House decision,” Mr. Johnson told reporters, adding that he had “nothing but positive things” to say about Mr. Turner.

He said that the panel “needs a fresh start, and that’s what this is about — nothing else.”

A spokesman for Mr. Johnson declined to say whom he planned to appoint as Mr. Turner’s replacement.

Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters that Mr. Turner’s removal “sends a shiver down my spine.”

Later, in a statement, he said: “The removal of Chairman Turner makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands that Congress function as a check and balance to the executive branch, not cater to its demands.”

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