Rep. Michael Turner will take over as the ranking Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence next month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Thursday.
Mr. Turner will replace Rep. Devin Nunes of California who announced his retirement earlier this month.
“Mike’s leadership of the committee will continue the great work of Congressman Nunes who has led the committee with integrity,” Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, said in a statement. “Every American committed to the security and safety of this country should be well-assured of Congressman Turner’s leadership of the House Intelligence Committee.”
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Mr. Nunes announced that he will join Trump Media & Technology as company CEO in January.
He served as chairman of the Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019 and was an outspoken critic of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and discredited claims that Trump campaign officials colluded with the Kremlin.
A key document underpinning many claims of Trump administration collusion with Russia, the Steel Dossier, has recently come under renewed scrutiny and been widely discredited following the indictment of a key source who contributed to the report.
“I have every confidence Mike will be a fearless and skillful leader for Intelligence Committee Republicans and will perform rigorous oversight over the Intelligence Community,” Mr. Nunes said. “He was instrumental in the work we did to expose the Russia collusion hoax, and he was a major asset in demolishing the Democrats’ ridiculous accusations during the first impeachment of President Trump.”
Mr. Turner, Ohio Republican, was appointed to the committee in 2015.
“The House Intelligence Committee’s work is critical to our national security and as the Ranking Member I am committed to supporting the men and women in the Intelligence Community,” Mr. Turner said in a statement. “I would like to thank Leader McCarthy for his confidence and I look forward to working with him as we address our nation’s security challenges.”
• Dave Boyer contributed to this report.