Another view ...
... The ouster of Turner, a staunch foreign policy hawk and defender of the intelligence community, was a blow to the large bipartisan bloc of national security-minded lawmakers in Congress.
- - - Turner's replacement is Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is closer to MAGA world on issues like Ukraine, Axios' Hans Nichols reported.
Driving the news: Johnson confirmed Wednesday that Turner, who was appointed to his role by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2022, would not be reappointed to lead the Intelligence panel.
- - - "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 told reporters.
- - - "It's a new Congress. We just need fresh horses in some of these places, but I'm a Mike Turner fan. He's done a great job. He performed valiantly in a difficult time under difficult circumstances," he added.
- - - Turner was seen by some House Republicans as too close to the intel community, and he angered GOP colleagues with an alarming statement last year warning of a "serious national security threat." ...
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a hawkish Intelligence Committee member, told reporters "we all have questions and concerns" and that Turner's removal "kind of came out of nowhere."
- - - "McCarthy spent a lot of political capital right-sizing and fixing that committee so that it would be what it needed to be. And Johnson, it's not really clear what his plan is," Crenshaw added.
- - - Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), another hawk, told Axios "it divides the conference, and I don't think that's good," adding that "most of us agree" with Turner on issues like Ukraine and intelligence collection.
- - - "I'm not happy with the decision. I think the vast majority of us are not happy with the decision," said another House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ...
