Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was unceremoniously ousted as chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, after Donald Trump ordered the pro-Ukraine lawmaker’s removal, according to CBS News’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan.
Turner has been a vocal critic of Russia and a supporter of Ukraine. He’s even criticized his own GOP colleagues for spreading Russian propaganda.
“We see, directly coming from Russia, attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor,” Turner said in April.
Rep. mike Turner says “it’s absolutely true” that Russian propaganda has “infected” the GOP: “To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian vs democracy battle,which is what it is” pic.twitter.com/bCd8CTMkmB— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 16, 2025
Being pro-Ukraine is untenable for Trump, who is buddies with violent Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Putin worked to help get Trump elected in 2016 by running an unprecedented propaganda campaign. And now that Trump won again, Politico reported that Putin hopes the U.S. will stop sending money and weapons to Ukraine in its war against Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
“One person who’ll clearly be pleased Mike Turner’s been dumped as House Intelligence chair: Vladimir Putin,” Republican Bill Kristol, who has been a vocal critic of Trump and his own party in recent years, wrote in a post on X.
Trump has refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to defeat Russia in the war Russia started. But he has made it clear that he wants Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, which attacked the country unprovoked, in order to end the war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who removed Turner as committee chair, claims Trump had nothing to do with the decision to remove Turner.
“This is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision, and this is no slight whatsoever to our outgoing chairman. He did a great job,” Johnson said, adding, “The intelligence community and everything related to [the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence], it needs a fresh start. And that’s what this is about. Nothing else.”
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, far left
It’s not yet clear who will be the new chair of the committee, which has oversight of the U.S. intelligence community and is privy to the nation’s top secrets.
In 2017, during Trump’s first term, the committee was led by Putin stooge Devin Nunes, who worked to thwart the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters he’s “enormously concerned” over Turner’s removal since Turner wasn’t one to “bend the knee” to Trump.
“His removal makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come,” Himes said in a statement. “The Constitution demands Congress function as a check on the Executive Branch, not cater to its demands.”
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