Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Why Mike Johnson’s intel appointments are so troubling     

By Jen Psaki

House Speaker Mike Johnson just named an election denier and an alleged bully to the House Intelligence Committee, all without informing the committee’s actual chair ahead of time. Maybe Johnson was trying to satisfy the MAGA wing of his party, or maybe he just doesn’t care about who has access to key intelligence. But whatever his motivation, the appointments of Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Ronny Jackson, R-Texas could have some significant implications.

The House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, handles highly sensitive classified information and works with foreign governments and domestic intelligence officials at the CIA, FBI and other organizations. Now, The New York Times is reporting Johnson’s decision has “prompted fears that the intelligence community might pull back on the sensitive national security information it shares with Congress.”

It is hard to imagine these two are going to sail through a security clearance process.

Jackson, a former White House physician and member of the U.S. Navy, was demoted from a retired admiral to retired captain following an internal investigation that revealed Jackson had made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female colleague and abused prescription medication. (In the vein of Donald Trump, Jackson has denied these allegations and called them politically motivated).

Perry, a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, played a prominent role in Trump’s attempts to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. The FBI, which Perry will now help oversee, confiscated his phone as a part of its probe into the Jan. 6 insurrection.

These appointments have significant implications for our democracy. Security officials are warning that Russia, China and Iran are looking to meddle in the 2024 election. Far-right groups here at home are stoking unhinged conspiracy theories about non-citizens voting. The stakes are high. By appointing Trump acolytes, Johnson is signaling that he’s more interested in appeasing Trump than in shoring up the committee’s crucial work in an election year.

Read more exclusive insights from Jen Psaki here. And tune into "Inside with Jen Psaki" Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, and Sundays at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC.

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