House Speaker Mike Johnson Thursday appointed a new chairman to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. Johnson tapped Rep. Rick Crawford, Arkansas Republican, to be the chair.

A day earlier, Mr. Johnson passed on re-appointing former House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner of Ohio. Mr. Turner’s unexpected ouster provoked speculation on Capitol Hill that he had fallen out of favor with President-elect Donald Trump.

Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, lauded Mr. Crawford for his work on the committee, saying he has “earned the respect of his colleagues [through] his steady approach to the challenges facing our country.”

“Our intelligence community and its oversight must maintain the highest levels of trust. The House Intel Committee will play a pivotal role in this work in the new Congress, and Rick Crawford will provide principled leadership as its chairman,” Mr. Johnson said. 

Mr. Johnson also filled several open slots on the GOP side of the committee because of member retirements, including Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida, both of whom were nominated for top jobs in the Trump administration.

Mr. Johnson filled the vacancies with Republican Reps. Claudia Tenney of New York, Ben Cline of Virginia, Pat Fallon of Texas, Greg Steube of Florida and Ann Wagner of Missouri.

Meanwhile, Democrats came to the defense of Mr. Turner.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, said Mr. Turner losing the job of committee chairman was an “unjustified ouster.” 

“Mike Turner is a serious, thoughtful and highly-principled leader, whose work as chair of the House Intelligence Committee has been extremely impactful. Throughout his time in the House of Representatives, Chairman Turner has upheld his oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies and championed our national security interests,” Mr. Jeffries said.

Mr. Johnson praised Mr. Turner’s service on the committee and said he still had a valuable role to play.

“He is a highly valued member of our conference, and we look forward to his continued contributions to keeping America safe and expanding our global security, including in his important position as the Chair of the U.S. Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.”

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.