Home Speaker Mike Johnson has enraged fellow Republicans but once more by placing two Freedom Caucus troublemakers—Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Ronny Jackson of Texas—on the important thing Intelligence Committee. Johnson justified passing over extra certified members for the plum spots by telling critics that convicted felon Donald Trump informed him to do it, in keeping with The Washington Submit.
Johnson’s choice did extra than simply anger his caucus with the transfer: He’s embedded Trump moles within the delicate committee. Even former Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn’t play video games with the Intelligence Committee, working with Democratic Chief Hakeem Jeffries to maintain politics at a minimal of their decisions. As a result of it’s a choose committee fairly than a standing committee, the speaker and minority chief select its members.
“[Johnson] has reversed course on this committee, and has now made it political once more. He has reversed all of the advances, which may hurt America’s preparedness,” one high-ranking Republican informed the Submit. “This isn’t a spot to play video games. This isn’t a spot to appease someone. That is the place you bought to do the actual work.”
“I feel we’re letting the manager department, on this case, compel the speaker of the Home and legislative department to fill two important spots that we now have, frankly, extra certified individuals for,” one other GOP panel member mentioned.
Johnson didn’t even seek the advice of with committee Chair Mike Turner of Ohio earlier than including the members to the panel, in keeping with sources who spoke to Politico final week.
“There’s a number of pissed [off] individuals. Quite a lot of offended individuals. … It’s a coveted spot, and lots of people who’ve labored exhausting to be good group gamers really feel like they’re getting handed over,” one GOP member mentioned, including that Johnson is “rewarding dangerous habits.”
And the habits of those two has been significantly dangerous. Perry is underneath investigation for his position in making an attempt to overturn the 2020 election outcomes and was a key conspirator in Jan. 6 who was deeply embedded within the Trump group’s efforts. Perry’s makes an attempt to raise Jeffrey Clark to Trump’s performing legal professional common within the weeks following the 2020 election sparked the investigation.
Jackson (also referred to as Johnson to a confused Trump) is a former White Home physician and Navy Rear Admiral who was demoted to captain after a Pentagon report was launched about his inappropriate habits as a White Home doctor. He pushed drugs, together with sedatives and stimulants, to “probably a whole lot of ineligible White Home employees and contractors” and did not handle harmful medication like fentanyl. Jackson can be a infamous Trump sycophant who fudged Trump’s top and weight statistics in his exams to maintain him simply out of the overweight class.
Each Perry and Jackson are favorites of Trump. That’s how they received the nod from Johnson, one more Trump toady.
Johnson is once more doing Trump’s soiled work by placing his allies in a spot the place they may conceivably do actual harm to our nationwide safety.
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