WASHINGTON — 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.”

Crawford opposed aid to Ukraine in a supplemental spending package last April and pushed back on a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that concluded “Havana syndrome” was likely caused by a confluence of factors, rather than a foreign weapon.

The 8th-term lawmaker previously served as chair of the committee’s Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee. Crawford sought to chair the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. But GOP leaders granted a waiver from term limits rules to allow Sam Graves, R-Mo., to continue in that role for the 119th Congress.

Turner has been a strong supporter of aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as of NATO. He previously served as president of NATO’s parliamentary assembly.

Johnson, R-La., said Thursday that Turner “deserves our gratitude for his leadership and critical work in the 118th Congress.”

Turner drew the ire of some House members on the right for his support of a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without requiring the FBI to have a warrant to search Americans’ data. He also warned of Russia’s nuclear capabilities in space — warnings which some critics felt were too vague and likely to cause a panic.

The Intelligence Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., blamed Turner’s removal on pressure from President-elect Donald Trump. Himes wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Turner’s removal “makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands Congress function as a check on the Executive Branch, not cater to its demands.”

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Turner’s removal as chair “shameful” in a statement Thursday. “Mike Turner has robustly promoted the safety of the American people and the Free World and his unjustified ouster is likely being applauded by our adversaries in Russia and China,” Jeffries said.

In a statement on X, Turner said that under his leadership the committee had restored its integrity and “returned its mission to its core focus of national security.”

Turner will no longer serve on the Intelligence panel, but will retain seats on the House Armed Services and Oversight and Government Reform committees.

Johnson named new GOP members to the Intelligence panel, replacing Turner and other Republicans who’ve departed Congress or will leave in the coming weeks for roles in the Trump administration. They are: Ann Wagner of Missouri; Ben Cline of Virginia; Greg Steube of Florida; Claudia Tenney of New York; and Pat Fallon of Texas.

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David Lerman contributed to this report.

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