House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Thursday announced the appointment of a new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after President-elect Donald Trump expressed concerns about the pro-Ukrainian and pro-surveillance former chairman. appointed a member of parliament.
As chairman, Mr Johnson has sole discretion to appoint the chair of the intelligence committee, an elected committee.
Prime Minister Johnson nominated Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) to chair the chair, as well as Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MOI), Rep. Ben Kline (R-VA), and Rep. Greg Steube. (R-Florida) and Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY). ), elected Pat Fallon (R-Texas) to the selection committee.
Mr. Crawford is in his eighth term in the House of Representatives and began his fifth term on the Intel Committee.
he said In a written statement:
As Chairman, I will actively support the mission of providing reliable and robust oversight of the intelligence community's funds and activities. Without active oversight and vigorous protection of the Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens, the IC is likely to succumb to its mission and circumvent U.S. law. In all of my work, I am sworn to protect the constitutional rights of Americans while striving to support the IC in doing everything necessary to gather essential intelligence from foreign adversaries. .
Arkansas lawmakers supported the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial surveillance law targeting foreign adversaries. However, they often incidentally monitor Americans' communications without a warrant.
Unlike his former speaker, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who was one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine, Crawford voted against the $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package.
“While the entire Western world supports Ukraine's fight to oust President Vladimir Putin's invading forces, billions of dollars in non-government funding to prop up Ukraine's economy at a time when Americans are struggling with an upswing. “We cannot vote in good faith to send military financial aid to Ukraine because it will cost us at home,” he said in a statement at the time.
Klein's selection to the committee will also include members of Congress who are focused on reforming Section 702 and protecting Americans' privacy.
A Virginia state senator who is a member of the Freedom Caucus. said In a statement:
I am honored to be appointed to the House Intelligence Committee. Our world has become an increasingly dangerous place over the past four years, and I am honored to work with my colleagues to strengthen our national security and help protect Americans from ongoing and emerging threats. I'm looking forward to it. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I hope to bring fresh perspectives to ensure that the Constitution and, in turn, the rights of the American people are vigorously defended within the intelligence community.
Klein criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland over the FBI's purchase of Americans' metadata to circumvent the Fourth Amendment.
Klein will join Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) as the committee's second Freedom Caucus member. Keystone state legislators are also seeking oversight of the Intelligence Committee.
“I look forward to providing new perspectives as well as providing real-world oversight of some aspects of the Intel community that frequently abuse their power, resources, and authority to spy on American citizens. Don't blindly follow,” Perry said. June statement.
“We want to make sure that the IC operates within the bounds of the Constitution and respects the rights and civil liberties of the American people,” Perry wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
