'Blindsided': Johnson didn’t tell GOP House Intel chair he was tapping hardline Republicans for panel
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) received an abundance of Democratic support recently when members of Congress overwhelmingly rejected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Georgia) proposal to oust him from that position. Yet he remains a controversial speaker, and a new controversy — according to Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman — is his decision to appoint two "hardline Republicans" to the House Intelligence Committee: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania).
This decision, Sherman reports in an article published on June 6, is "reverberating throughout" Capitol Hill. And Johnson is drawing criticism for, according to Sherman, not even keeping House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) posted.
"Turner learned that Johnson was tapping Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) from press reports, according to multiple sources familiar with the events," Sherman says in an article that claims Turner was "blindsided" by the appointment.
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"Several members of the (Intelligence) Committee — Republicans and Democrats — say they worry about the integrity of the panel in the wake of Johnson's appointment of the pair," Sherman explains. "After years of intense partisan clashes during the Donald Trump era, members of the Intelligence Committee have tried to rebuild the reputation of the panel."
Sherman adds, "In their view, Johnson's selection of Jackson and Perry betrays a lack of understanding about or respect for their work. And the indignity of allowing Turner to find out about the speaker's final decision from social media was salt in the wound."
Sherman notes some reasons why these appointments are controversial.
The Punchbowl journalist reports, "Perry, of course, was one of the key figures in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The FBI, which Perry will help oversee now, confiscated the Pennsylvania Republican's phone as part of the probe into the January 6 insurrection…. Jackson, of course, has his own colorful history."
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Sherman continues, "Trump nominated Jackson to be Veterans Affairs secretary. Jackson withdrew after a slew of stories accusing him of drinking on the job and inappropriately treating employees came out. Jackson denied all allegations, but a scathing Pentagon inspector general report resurfaced many of the accusations."
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Read Jake Sherman's full Punchbowl News article at this link.
