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LetMyPeopleVote

(157,165 posts)
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 11:22 AM Jan 16

Why did Speaker Johnson oust his own party's Intelligence Committee chair? [View all]

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Donald Trump wasn't involved in the decision to oust the chair. There's reason to believe otherwise.
https://bsky.app/profile/actiontogethernj.bsky.social/post/3lfunie2v2k2z

Why did Speaker Johnson oust his own party’s Intelligence Committee chair?
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Donald Trump wasn't involved in the decision to oust the chair. There's reason to believe otherwise.



https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/speaker-johnson-oust-partys-intelligence-committee-chair-rcna187931

When the Louisiana Republican was pressed for an explanation, Johnson reportedly told his members that the appointments came at the behest of Donald Trump, who wanted unqualified MAGA loyalists on the powerful panel.

It’s against this backdrop that the beleaguered speaker made yet another highly provocative move on the panel formally known as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. NBC News reported:

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has informed Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, that he will no longer be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, according to a GOP leadership source and a Republican lawmaker familiar with the matter. The lawmaker said Turner told him Wednesday that he would not be staying on as head of the critical panel that conducts oversight of the U.S. intelligence community.


Turner confirmed in a written statement that he’d been stripped of his intelligence committee gavel, though the Ohioan did not explain why, exactly, he’d been demoted....

If those reports are accurate, they lead to a rather obvious question: Why would the president-elect oppose Turner staying on as the chair of the intelligence panel? To understand Trump’s possible motivation, consider this paragraph from the Times’ report:

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.


Indeed, it’s probably fair to say that among House Republicans, Turner is among the most enthusiastic supporters of backing Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the Ohioan has championed the NATO alliance.....

In 2014, I referred to John Boehner as the “Speaker in Name Only” because the then-GOP leader struggled to get his own members to follow his directives, leaving him effectively powerless when trying to legislate.

More than a decade later, as Johnson owes his tenure to the president-elect, there’s reason to believe the “SINO” title is poised to make a comeback
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Because the convicted felon told him to, why else. republianmushroom Jan 16 #1
Widdle Mikey does what he's told...nt wcmagumba Jan 16 #2
He supports Ukraine & other security issues go against Putin. Seriously, That's why. themaguffin Jan 16 #3
He voted to certify Biden as the winner of election. travelingthrulife Jan 16 #6
He could have already been removed. This is to have to no interference in Putin's policies themaguffin Jan 16 #9
The felon demanded it and Johnson obeyed. Deuxcents Jan 16 #4
Oh, the complicity!!! FeelingBlue Jan 16 #5
Because the oly thing that matters now is what Trump wants. Happy Hoosier Jan 16 #7
Mike Turner is not slimy, creepy, crooked enough for Trump? Irish_Dem Jan 16 #8
Speaker Johnson is AFRAID of Trump--simple as that. riversedge Jan 16 #10
A little too much integrity. moondust Jan 16 #11
Because of Turner's support for Ukraine. sinkingfeeling Jan 16 #12
By hollowing out the intelligence agencies... liberalgunwilltravel Jan 16 #13
mike johnson OuacthitaDem Jan 16 #14
Timothy Johnson is not Mike Johnson Bernardo de La Paz Jan 16 #15
How is he connected to Johnson? n/t Lulu KC Jan 17 #21
I'm intrigued by your user name. TomSlick Jan 17 #22
In case you're wondering why Mike Turner was booted from Intel👇👇👇 LetMyPeopleVote Jan 16 #16
+1. That was a no-no dalton99a Jan 16 #17
. dalton99a Jan 16 #18
Key committee members 'extraordinarily angry' at Mike Johnson's latest move: reporter Brad Reed LetMyPeopleVote Jan 16 #19
Seems a lot of Repug voters, even those in Congress, may start having voter's allegorical oracle Jan 16 #20
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