House Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH) warned against a group of “radical individuals who don’t have an ideology” working to thwart the U.S. government on a Sunday episode of “Face The Nation.”
Turner made the disconcerting remarks on the CBS News Sunday show while discussing the large number of Republicans who have recently announced they are retiring or resigning from Congress.
"Unfortunately, the chaos caucus has continued to want to stop everything that occurs in Congress. It's not as though they have an alternative plan." — GOP Rep. Mike Turner on Face the Nation calls out Marjorie Taylor Greene and company pic.twitter.com/ych9Ot7QWX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 31, 2024
“This obviously is very unfortunate,” Turner said, remarking on the razor-thin balance of power between Republicans and Democrats. “This has been a very strange time period, where we see that the — the Senate is at 50-50. We see the House at 50-50. Even the presidential race has run basically at 50-50. It’s almost unfolding that way perhaps again.”
That negligible margin of difference in power between the GOP and the Democrats has given opportunistic radicals the ability to nudge the entire apparatus of government and statecraft in one direction or another, according to Turner, often with no genuine ideology in mind or authentic goals other than sowing confusion and chaos to disrupt society.
“And it shows that we can have radical fringes, even radical individuals who don’t really have an ideology or an agenda, other than chaos, that can cause disruptions,” Turner said. “And that’s what we have seen.”
The ranking House Intelligence Committee member bemoaned how fringe delegates have taken advantage of the situation.
Turner said this obstructionism “certainly makes it difficult for people who just want to get the job done.” He expressed concern that it could endanger national security, stating: “In the area of national security, I think Speaker Johnson’s made it, you know, very clear that we have his support to get national security agenda items done. And I think we will.”
Then CBS anchor Ed O’Keefe questioned Turner about the news that former President Donald Trump had begun selling a special edition of the Bible, the “God Bless the USA Bible.”
“Do you think it’s appropriate for the former president, for the likely Republican nominee to be selling such a product?” O’Keefe asked. The Republican congressman retorted, “You know, I’m glad that CBS gives people the right to express their religious freedom.”
