WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� 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.
鈥淗e 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,鈥� Johnson said in announcing the appointment of Crawford, who is beginning his eighth term in the House.
Johnson shocked lawmakers with 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 鈥渉ighly-principled leader.鈥�
鈥淢ike 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,鈥� Jeffries said.
Crawford joined the committee in 2017. He said in a statement that 鈥渁buse鈥� within the nation's security apparatus had eroded trust and compromised America's ability to gather intelligence.
鈥淎s chairman, I will aggressively uphold our mandate to provide credible and robust oversight of the Intelligence Community鈥檚 funding and activities,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ithout aggressive oversight and vigorous protection of Americans鈥� Fourth Amendment rights, the IC is prone to give in to mission creep and skirt U.S. laws.鈥�
The Associated Press
