Mike Johnson replaces powerful Intelligence Committee chairman after Russian nuclear threat warning

Speaker Mike Johnson is replacing Rep. Mike Turner as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after a debacle that started with a warning about Russian space nuclear technology last year, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Johnson, R-La., was unhappy with Turner, R-Ohio, after a seemingly unexpected warning he issued about the need to declassify information about Russian anti-satellite technology.

A hawk by nature, Turner sometimes went up against the Trumpist wing of his Republican Party on matters like support for Ukraine aid and Section 702 of FISA. 

The decision to replace Turner took many by surprise. Though Johnson had not officially named him as chairman, Turner attended a dinner of House GOP committee chairs with President-elect Trump over the weekend. 

Rep. Jim Himes, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters the removal of Turner as chairman ‘sends a shiver down my spine,’ adding that Turner was not the kind to ‘bend the knee’ to Trump. 

Last February, Turner warned of a ‘serious national security threat’ that he was urging President Biden to declassify information on. 

‘I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat,’ he added.

Johnson was then left to quell the public alarm. 

Johnson said he ‘saw Chairman Turner’s statement on the issue, and I want to assure the American people there’s no need for public alarm.’ 

‘I’m not at liberty to disclose classified information and really can’t say much of that, but we just want to assure everyone, steady hands are at the wheel, we’re working on it. There’s no need for alarm.’ 

In the days that followed, details of the Russian threat soon began to filter through to the press, painting a picture of an adversary capable of disabling U.S. military satellites and other critical space-based infrastructure.

Turner has at times throughout the years been unafraid to stand up to Trump – in September, he criticized the rumors about Haitian migrants eating pets that were amplified  by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. 

‘This is incredibly tragic and completely untrue. This should not have happened, it’s been tearing the community apart,’ Turner told Jake Tapper at the time.