Mike Turner removed as Intelligence Committee chair

“I’m very proud to have served on the House Intelligence Committee and as its chairman,” Turner posted on X Wednesday evening. “There are great members on the committee, and I’m honored to have served with them. 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 added: “As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have been and will continue to be a strong advocate for the military and our national defense. My work to expand missions and capabilities at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base continues. Furthermore, I look forward to welcoming the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to Dayton in the coming months.

Also on X Wednesday, Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Hines, a Democrat from Connecticut, said: “Mike Turner is a serious, security-focused lawmaker dedicated at his core to the national security of the United States and to the thoughtful oversight of the Intelligence community. The removal of Chairman Turner makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands that Congress function as a check and balance to the executive branch, not cater to its demands.”

Turner had been the top Republican on the committee since the start of 2023 when he was chosen by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for the Intelligence role in 2022. He has served on the committee since 2015. Turner was Dayton’s first elected official to serve in a leadership role on a national security committee in the U.S. House.

Created in 1977, the Intelligence Committee is responsible for oversight of the U.S. intelligence community. In fiscal year 2022, the intelligence community had funding of nearly $90 billion, although only the topline funding request is made public, by law.

Turner was a member of the so-called “Gang of Eight,” a small group of lawmakers and federal officials enjoying prized access to some of the most classified data. Because he is no longer the chairman, he will not serve on the committee. It’s not known what that will mean for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, although Turner has pledged to continue to advocate for the base.

Media reports say the decision came from Trump’s administration team. This newspaper has reached out to Turner’s office with questions.

Margaret Brennan, the Face The Nation moderator, said on social media she spoke Turner and he confirmed Johnson had fired him.

Politico reported Turner has made many enemies over his handling of key intelligence matters, including a major internal battle over renewing certain surveillance authorities last year. He has also been an outspoken advocate for Ukraine funding and other hawkish national security stances, Politico said.

The committee has oversight of the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies, including several located at Wright-Patterson.

Turner has been a prominent voice on the future of Wright-Patterson and two of its key missions, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) and the new National Space Intelligence Center — also known as “Space Delta 18,″ as the 18th member of the federal intelligence community.

“A lot of the work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is classified,” Turner told the Dayton Daily News in 2023. “A significant portion of the funding of the operations at Wright-Patt come through the intelligence community. I have a seat at the table being able to fashion intelligence community policies and funding, goals and objectives. That gives me an opportunity to impact Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”

The National Space Intelligence Center was formed and welcomed its first commander, Col. Marqus Randall, in June 2022 in a ceremony at Wright State University’s Nutter Center. Turner pushed for the co-location of the National Space Intelligence Center with NASIC at Wright-Patterson.

Since he was named to the leadership post, Turner, a former Dayton mayor, hosted two intelligence retreats and briefings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

In 2023, participants visiting the base included CIA Director William Burns, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, National Security Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, Avril Haines, national intelligence director, and 17 members of the intelligence committee.

Since he assumed the chairmanship of the intelligence panel, Turner no longer serves as subcommittee chairman on the House Armed Services Committee.

Turner also serves on the Oversight and Accountability Committee. According to Turner’s Web site, he was appointed in 2011 as the chairman of the U.S. delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly, the inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.

In December 2014, Turner was elected president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He now serves as vice-chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Thomas Gnau contributed to this story.