But in an interview in his Capitol Hill office, Turner said his focus is on delivering for the Dayton region and for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
When asked what’s at the top of his agenda right now, Turner said: “Growing my community and making certain that we fight for our national security.”
He made it very clear — firmly, but with a smile — that he wasn’t interested in going through the details of why House Speaker Mike Johnson removed him as Intelligence Committee chair, a post that Turner held for two years.
Turner did acknowledge that when he arrived for a meeting with the speaker in mid-January, he had no idea that he was about to be removed from the intelligence panel.
Turner no longer has that committee chairmanship, but remains a senior member on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
When asked about the efforts by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to find budget savings across the federal government, Turner said he’s all for cutting wasteful spending, including inside the Pentagon. But the former mayor of Dayton cautions that it must be done with common sense.
“We have to look to find savings in the federal budget, but at the same time we have to preserve what’s important about the federal government,” Turner added.
Meanwhile, Turner was noncommittal about a giant GOP tax and budget plan for President Trump’s agenda, waiting for more details.
“I’m going to have to see the final proposal before I know whether or not I’m going to support it,” Turner said. “I certainly don’t want to see a proposal that hurts people.”
The discussion with Turner came as House Republicans were trying to reach a deal on a budget outline for next year, the first step on Capitol Hill to forge a mammoth bill to extend the Trump tax cuts of 2017.
When asked if Speaker Johnson would be able to keep Republicans together in what could be a bruising internal GOP debate, Turner shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not my job,” he said.
Turner — who was first elected in 2002 — says he fully intends to run for another term in Congress in 2026, not worried about the possibility of a primary challenge from the MAGA wing of the GOP.
“I always get challenged, and I always prevail,” Turner said. “In the last couple of weeks, I’ve raised over a quarter million dollars for my reelection. So, I know I have significant support.”
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