Speaker Johnson Removes Intel Committee Chair Over ‘Concerns From Mar-a-Lago’

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson removed Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) from his position as chair of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday after allegedly being pressured by President-elect Donald Trump.

Several news outlets, including CBS, Politico, and Axios, reported that Turner had been removed by Johnson from his position – citing Republican sources in the know.

Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, Turner claimed that Johnson fired him after receiving “concerns from Mar a Lago” – Trump’s Florida resort.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Brennan the move “just sends a shiver down my spine.”

Speaker Johnson denied his decision was impacted by Trump, telling ABC News reporter John Parkinson, “This is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision. And this is no slight whatsoever to our outgoing chairman.”

He claimed, “We just need fresh horses in some of these places.”

Over the years, Turner has repeatedly found himself at odds with President-elect Trump and did not join his colleagues in contesting the results of the 2020 election.

In 2023, Turner voted against a resolution to censure Trump impeachment manager Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA). In September, Turner also complained that Trump’s claims about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs in his state were “tearing the community apart.”

Asked, “Should Donald Trump and JD Vance stop lying about these migrants eating people’s pets?” Turner replied, “This certainly is incredibly tragic and completely untrue… And this should not have happened. It’s been tearing the community apart. I have not heard that they’ve continued these statements though, Jake, I do think that they have moved on.”