Speaker Johnson appoints Trump loyalists to Intelligence Committee, pulling panel rightward

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson named two conservatives to the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, downplaying concerns about their past criticisms of the intelligence community.

Johnson tapped Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Ronny Jackson, R-Tex., to fill two vacant seats on the all-important House committee, which regularly deals with sensitive national security information. Both men have strong ties to former President Donald Trump.

Perry is the former head of the rabble-rousing House Freedom Caucus who was a central figure in efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss. The FBI seized Perry’s phone in 2022 as part of an investigation into those efforts. At the end of last year, a judge ordered Perry to turn over cell phone records and disclose thousands of documents to government investigators as part of their probe into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the events that preceded it. A lawyer for Perry previously told NBC News that the Republican had an “obligation” to investigate concerns about the 2020 election, which Trump lost.

Jackson is a former White House physician who served in the Trump and Obama administrations but was ultimately demoted after reports of “inappropriate conduct” during that time. An Inspector General’s review found Jackson took the sedative Ambien while working as a physician at the White House, and that he made sexual comments to colleagues and mistreated subordinates. He remains an outspoken ally of Trump.

Asked about his rationale for choosing Perry, especially given the FBI’s seizure of his phone and investigation, the House speaker told NBC News: “I think all that’s behind us.”

Johnson, R-La., went on to tout Perry’s past military service, adding Perry “brings a lot to