‘Shameful!’ Hakeem Jeffries Goes to Bat for Ousted Republican House Intel Chair Mike Turner
(AP Photo/John McDonnell)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) defended Republican Rep. Mike Turner — who was recently ousted as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
House Speaker Mike Johnson removed Turner (R-OH) as chair of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday after allegedly being pressured by President-elect Donald Trump. Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, Turner claimed Johnson fired him after receiving “concerns from Mar-a-Lago” – Trump’s Florida residence where he has taken numerous meetings with congressional leadership since winning the 2024 election, including Speaker Johnson.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Brennan the move “just sends a shiver down my spine.”
In a statement released Thursday morning, Jeffries defended Turner as a ” serious, thoughtful, and highly-principled leader.” He also blasted the decision to remove him as “Shameful.” Jefferies press release reads:
Mike Turner is a serious, thoughtful and highly-principled leader, whose work as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee has been extremely impactful. Throughout his time in the House of Representatives, Chairman Turner has upheld his oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies and championed our national security interests. 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.
It is rare to see congressional leaders cross the aisle to praise their political rivals, which shows perhaps both why the Democrats so respect Turner but also why Trump and his surrogates do not want him in this critical role.
