Mike Johnson faces bipartisan shock, fury for ousting Intel chair

• Turner's replacement is Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is closer to MAGA world on issues like Ukraine, Axios' Hans Nichols reported.

Driving the news: Johnson confirmed Wednesday that Turner, who was appointed to his role by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2022, would not be reappointed to lead the Intelligence panel.

• "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 told reporters.
• "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," he added.
• Turner was seen by some House Republicans as too close to the intel community, and he angered GOP colleagues with an alarming statement last year warning of a "serious national security threat."

What they're saying: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a hawkish Intelligence Committee member, told reporters "we all have questions and concerns" and that Turner's removal "kind of came out of nowhere."

• "McCarthy spent a lot of political capital right-sizing and fixing that committee so that it would be what it needed to be. And Johnson, it's not really clear what his plan is," Crenshaw added.
• Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), another hawk, told Axios "it divides the conference, and I don't think that's good," adding that "most of us agree" with Turner on issues like Ukraine and intelligence collection.
• "I'm not happy with the decision. I think the vast majority of us are not happy with the decision," said another House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Zoom in: Despite Johnson's denials, several House Republicans pushed the theory that the right-wing House Freedom Caucus pressed President-elect Trump's team to demand Turner's ouster.

• The House Republican who spoke anonymously said the right-wing group, still smarting over a successful Turner-led push to reauthorize the federal government's spying capabilities, engineered the move.
• "The House Freedom Caucus remembered that, went down to Mar-a-Lago, extracted a pound of flesh from somebody they didn't like," they said. The right-wing group met with Trump at his Florida resort last weekend.
• Crenshaw called it a "very believable theory."

• "Rumors are HFC demanded it," offered Bacon, adding that "if the rumors are true, it's offensive."

The other side: Freedom Caucus members pleaded ignorance.

• "He and I had our disagreements. I was surprised ... I was totally taken aback," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a leading opponent of federal government surveillance.
• Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris (R-Md), asked if any of his members pushed for Turner's removal, told Axios: "I don't think so. You'd have to ask them. It's not an issue we bring up."
• Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), a former Freedom Caucus member, told Axios, "I support the speaker's decision as it is his decision to make."

Democrats, meanwhile, are very public about their outrage towards Johnson's move.

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called Turner's removal "unjustified" and said it is "likely being applauded by our adversaries in Russia and China. Shameful."
• "It's very troubling, to put it mildly ... and it's foreboding that they are removing somebody as strong as that for apparently political reasons," said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), an Intelligence Committee member.

What's next: Crenshaw told reporters that Republicans on the panel plan to meet with Johnson to try to get his explanation for the decision.

• Still, Crenshaw said of Crawford: "I like Rick. He's already CIA subcommittee chair."

The bottom line: "Any time the speaker makes appointments of course you're going to have people who are upset," a senior House Republican told Axios.

• "Mike Turner's well respected among a good cross-section of the conference."