Jan 15, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Mike Johnson ousts Mike Turner as Intelligence Committee chair

Andrew Solender

Reps. Mike Johnson and Mike Turner in front of a photo of the first Trump assassination, an American flag and a wooden wall. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) and former Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner at a House Oversight Committee hearing on July 22, 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has ousted Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, multiple GOP sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: Turner, who was tapped to lead Republicans on the panel by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2022, has at times broken with party leadership in a way that angered his GOP colleagues.

Most notably, he put out a jarring but cryptic statement last February warning of a "serious national security threat" that turned out to be about Russian nuclear anti-satellite weapons.
One former House Republican said there is a feeling that Turner is "way too intel establishment."

Zoom out: It's the second time in as many days Johnson has removed a Republican from a key panel.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the lone House Republican to vote against reelecting Johnson as speaker on Jan. 3, was taken off the Rules Committee — though he left voluntarily.

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Mike Johnson ousts Mike Turner as Intelligence Committee chair

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