US removes Intelligence Committee chairman who supported Ukraine
Pravda Ukraine
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson removed Mike Turner as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, citing a desire to give the group a “fresh start” in the new Congress under a new president, on Wednesday, 15 January.
Source: Politico, citing informed sources, as reported by European Pravda
Details: On 15 January, sources revealed that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson cited former President Donald Trump as the reason for removing Mike Turner from his position as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, following a meeting between the two.
Turner, in turn, told CBS News that Johnson had explained his decision by referencing “concerns from Mar-a-Lago”.
In a statement to reporters, Johnson emphasised, “this is a House decision,” shifting the focus away from Trump.
Quote: “This is not a President Trump decision; this is a House decision,” he clarified, adding that the move was not a slight to Turner, who had “performed valiantly in a difficult time under difficult circumstances”.
Turner, who was appointed to head the committee in 2022 by then-Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, had become a target of MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) supporters due to his stance on key intelligence matters.
He was also a vocal advocate for continued funding for Ukraine and other hawkish national security positions.
Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, expressed concern about the implications of the change. “I have ice in my spine right now, because that’ll totally change the dynamic of oversight,” he told reporters after the news broke.
On Wednesday, Turner issued a brief statement confirming his departure from the committee. “Under my leadership, we restored the integrity of the Committee and returned its mission to its core focus of national security. The threat from our adversaries is real and requires serious deliberations,” he concluded.
Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova, who chairs the parliamentary committee on arms supplies, expressed her concern, calling it “very, very bad news for Ukraine”. She added, “This isn’t just about Turner being removed from his post as chairman of the Intelligence Committee; it’s a loss of a major ally for Ukraine in a crucial position.”
Quote: “I can’t recall a single instance when he didn’t support us, didn’t push the administration, didn’t write letters or make calls to the Pentagon or their intelligence agencies,” Ustinova wrote.
She also mentioned that when she last met with Turner three weeks ago, he had publicly advocated for providing Ukraine with a Black Hawk multirole helicopter, both as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee and as the head of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly delegation.
Background:
- Trump had previously promised that, in his efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, he would “not abandon Ukraine”.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the current administration under President Biden is working to ensure that the next Republican administration inherits the strongest foreign policy positions, especially regarding Ukraine.
- Recently, Ukraine’s European allies have expressed cautious optimism that Trump will not push Kyiv into premature negotiations with Russia.
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