Speaker Johnson removes Mike Turner as Intelligence Committee chair the hill
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One Republican lawmaker told The Hill the decision was made after complaints from Freedom Caucus members.
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One Republican lawmaker familiar with the situation said the MAGA wing of the party revolted over keeping Turner in the post.
“What I know is that Mar-a-Lago vetoed Turner,” the lawmaker said.
“They vetoed him, and Johnson couldn’t resist doing it, and so he got sandbagged because Trump wanted that to happen.”
The lawmaker noted the move came shortly after an article in Tablet Magazine noting complaints about Turner’s influence as his deputy pushed to move to the National Security Council.
“All these people, Freedom Caucus people, went after Turner, got to Trump and told him, ‘You got to tell Johnson to sandbag him.’”
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Rep.
Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the panel, condemned Turner’s removal.
“Mike Turner is a serious, security focused lawmaker dedicated at his core to the national security of the United States and to the thoughtful oversight of the Intelligence Community,” Himes said in a statement.
“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.”
CBS News’s Margaret Brennan reported
Turner told her Johnson fired him after citing “concerns from Mar-a-Lago.”
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