Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to choose Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) as the next chair of the House Intelligence Committee, two people familiar with Johnson’s intentions said.
Johnson on Wednesday removed former Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) in a move that stunned even some Republicans on the panel. Now he has told people that he intends to replace him with Crawford, a low-key veteran of the Intel panel.
Crawford is the most senior Republican on the committee and viewed as a less hawkish pick than Turner. He also holds more MAGA-friendly credentials — representing a deep red district in Arkansas and voting against Ukraine aid last year.
He’s also raised concerns that “Havana Syndrome” incidents among U.S. diplomats are the result of attacks by a foreign adversary.
Crawford is also the only Intelligence panel member left who ran for the top spot after Trump loyalist Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) resigned in 2022. Turner tried to repair some of the bipartisan ties on the panel when he took over.
But Turner enraged the hard right over the chaotic reauthorization of a sweeping surveillance bill last year. Conservative hard-liners in the House and other Republicans loyal to Trump had been pressing Johnson for months to remove Turner.
Johnson, who has sole discretion in choosing the panel’s chair, cited Trump as a reason for the ouster when the speaker met with Turner Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the conversation who was granted anonymity to describe it.
