Mike Johnson fired the GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee ,Mike Turner, this week, even going so far as to remove him from the committee entirely. He has told reporters that Johnson said the order came from Mar-a-Lago although Johnson is denying it.
Turner was a sort of old school Republican with generally hawkish views who supported Ukraine and the use of FISA warrants, both of which are anathemas to the far right. He also called out some of his fellow Republicans last year (anonymously) for being dupes of Russian propaganda which I would guess is probably at the heart of all this.
Nonetheless, he had the respect of both Democrats and Republicans on the committee and they are upset:
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.
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.”
Freedom Caucus members pleaded ignorance.
This is only going to cause more trouble for Johnson. NBC reported:
One lawmaker who, like Turner, is a member of the Main Street Caucus, said the unexpected swap at the intelligence panel has eroded trust within the Republican conference and could make it much harder to pass Trump’s agenda. With two House Republicans up for positions in the Trump administration, the party’s majority could soon shrink to 217-215 — giving Johnson just a one-seat cushion on party-line votes.
These Republicans said they were giving Johnson an earful after Turner’s removal became public.
“This hurts us in the reconciliation process,” said the lawmaker, referring to the expedited budget process Republicans plan to use to pass legislation related to Trump’s pledges on taxes, the border and energy costs. “Looks like backroom politics and backstabbing.”
A second GOP lawmaker, one who had a recent conversation with Turner, predicted the ousted chairman would make life difficult for Johnson in the coming year and could be in a position to halt Republicans’ entire agenda if he chooses to do so. Turner did not participate in House votes on Wednesday or Thursday.
“I think Turner will burn the House down,” the second lawmaker said. “He will be a no vote on everything. I mean, he just got totally f—–.”
Apparently, he has not shown up for any votes.
I don’t know that it’s realistic to hope for something like this to happen but you never know.
It’s rare for a Republican to jump to the Democrats (it’s usually gone the other way) but politics ain’t what it used to be so who knows? In any case, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be a good team player.