Speaker Johnson appoints new Intelligence chairman after surprise shakeup

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WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson appointed Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., as the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday after asserting that the panel needed a fresh start.

“He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful service on the committee and his steady approach to the challenges facing our country,” Johnson said in announcing the appointment of Crawford, who is beginning his eighth term in the House.

Johnson shocked lawmakers with the announcement Wednesday that he was removing Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio from the post. However, Turner had been at odds with President-elect Donald Trump on some issues. For example, he supported efforts to aid Ukraine in its attempts to repel Russia's military.

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns that Turner's removal weakens the panel's independence in conducting oversight on intelligence matters. Trump has picked fierce loyalists to lead agencies with vast power for surveillance. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called Turner a “highly-principled leader.”

“Mike Turner has robustly promoted the safety of the American people and the Free World and his unjustified ouster is likely being applauded by our adversaries in Russia and China. Shameful,” Jeffries said.

Crawford joined the committee in 2017. He said in a statement that “abuse” within the nation's security apparatus had eroded trust and compromised America's ability to gather intelligence.

“As chairman, I will aggressively uphold our mandate to provide credible and robust oversight of the Intelligence Community’s funding and activities,” he said. “Without aggressive oversight and vigorous protection of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights, the IC is prone to give in to mission creep and skirt U.S. laws.”