Critics said the removal erodes congressional oversight and advances the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Commenting to reporters, Johnson deflected blame away from the returning president, saying, “This is not a President Trump decision; this is a House decision.” He also said the decision was “no slight” to Turner, who had “performed valiantly in a difficult time under difficult circumstances.”

Washington — Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was removed from his position atop the powerful House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, telling CBS News that House Speaker Mike Johnson fired him, citing "concerns from Mar-a-Lago." Turner also confirmed Friday night that he had been removed from the committee entirely.

Turner told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan that Mike Johnson had cited “concerns from Mar-a-Lago” as the reason for the decision.

The once and future President is back to wielding leverage like a club, in the Middle East and on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Dayton, was abruptly fired from his role by House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, prompting concerns from some members about President-elect Donald Trump's approach to intervening in Congressional affairs.

Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) defended recently ousted Republican Rep. Mike Turner, who was recently ousted as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. The post ‘Shameful!’ Hakeem Jeffries Goes to Bat for Ousted Republican House Intel Chair Mike Turner first appeared on Mediaite.

The honorees are three decorated war heroes and an Obama-era Navy secretary noted for his own propensity to flout the policy, established in 1969, of not naming U.S. warships for living people. That policy, first broken in 1974, has since been broken with increasing frequency.

Rubio said that after three years of fighting the Ukraine and Russia are deadlocked in “a war of attrition, a stalemate of protracted conflict,” and the only way out is a negotiated ceasefire, with some form of security guarantees for what would effectively leave Ukraine as a rump state.

WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT BIDEN: Tom Malinowski, former Democratic New Jersey representative, had some interesting thoughts about Biden’s and Trump’s relative strengths and weaknesses when it came to the Israel-Hamas truce. Malinowksi, a former assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, wrote:

House Speaker Mike Johnson removed Rep. Mike Turner from his position as chair of the House Intelligence Committee.