Arkansas Rep. Rick Crawford will chair the House Intelligence Committee, Speaker Mike Johnson announced Thursday, succeeding Ohio Republican Michael R. Turner whom the speaker removed a day earlier.
Crawford is the most senior Republican on the panel in the 118th Congress who’s still serving. He’s got a record that’s more friendly to the incoming Trump administration’s foreign policy and national security positions than Turner, who clashed with the “America First” wing of the GOP on occasion.
“Our intelligence community and its oversight must maintain the highest levels of trust. The House Intel Committee will play a pivotal role in this work in the new Congress, and Rick Crawford will provide principled leadership as its chairman,” Johnson said in a statement. “He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful service on the committee and his steady approach to the challenges facing our country.”
