California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes’s Monday announcement that he will leave Congress at the end of this year to take a job as the CEO of former President Donald Trump’s new media company was a surprise gunshot signaling a “race” of sorts to replace him as the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.
Three Republicans are openly angling to replace Nunes as the ranking member of the committee and presumably become chairman should Republicans win back the House in 2022: Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, Utah Rep. Chris Stewart, and Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup.
Turner, who by seniority is next in line on the committee, made his interest in becoming the ranking member known on CNN Tuesday afternoon.
“Absolutely,” Turner said when asked if he wanted the job. “I think national security is very important. To be able to contribute to the dialogue and the direction that we take for national security is important. And so, yes, I’ll be seeking the position.”
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Later Tuesday evening, Stewart released a statement also indicating his interest.
“I’m excited about this potential opportunity to lead my fellow Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. I have dedicated my life to defending America and its ideals,” Stewart said. “And between my 14 years of military service and seven years on the committee, I strongly believe that I am best qualified for the position of ranking member. I spent more time than anyone studying our enemies and the threats they pose. From China to the Ukraine, Africa to Afghanistan, I have seen firsthand the dangers we face. I am seeking this position out of a sense of duty to my nation. And it would be my honor to continue protecting and serving the American people.”
Wenstrup, too, made his desire for the top slot public.
“It’s my honor to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, an important yet low-profile panel responsible for the security of our United States,” Wenstrup told the Washington Examiner in a statement Tuesday night. “If entrusted with this leadership responsibility, I’ll work to steer this Committee directly towards the critical mission of keeping Americans safe in a dangerous world of emerging and evolving threats.”
Only one person’s “vote” matters for selecting the next top Republican: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Those jockeying for the top slot on regular standing committees have to win over those on the House Republican Conference’s Steering Committee. For the top Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, though, McCarthy alone has the final say.
Member maneuvering for the top House Intelligence Committee spot had begun long before this week. Nunes was considered the favorite to become the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee instead of the Intelligence Committee in the 118th Congress since ranking member Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas is retiring at the end of his term. But Nunes’s surprise announcement that he would leave Congress early bumped up the timeline for announcing a new top Republican by a year.
McCarthy may have already made his decision, or he could be weighing the options and consulting with other Republican leaders about the best fit. In any case, the three are publicly campaigning for the job.
Turner is the most senior of the three contenders, first elected to Congress in 2002, a decade before Stewart and Wenstrup were elected in 2012, though all three were appointed to the committee in 2015. Last year, he lost a bid to become the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee to Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers.
He has largely focused his congressional career around national security and advocated against cuts to the military. He is a former president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, an organization that brings legislators in NATO member countries together to consider common security issues.
Turner has also been named as a possible candidate for the open Senate seat in Ohio, and he has not publicly declined to run. If selected to lead Republicans on the committee, that possibility would be ruled out. House Republican Conference rules would prevent him from seeking other offices while he is a ranking member or chairman.
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Wenstrup is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, an Iraq War veteran, and a doctor of podiatric medicine for 26 years. He is a co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus.
Earlier this year, the FBI changed its designation of the 2017 Congressional Baseball Shooting from “suicide by cop” to an incident of domestic terrorism after Wenstrup pressed FBI Director Chris Wray about the designation and asked the agency to review the determination.
Stewart is a 14-year Air Force veteran and former CEO of a consulting company who has also authored more than a dozen books. Last year, he was appointed by McCarthy to the Republicans’ China Task Force.
For several years, Stewart has held an annual “Stewart Security Summit” in Utah that has included high-profile names such as then-national security adviser Robert O’Brien. In what could be a demonstration of ability to work across the aisle, this year’s summit included Rep. Jim Himes, who is next in line to replace California Rep. Adam Schiff as the committee’s top Democrat. McCarthy, too, has appeared at the event.
