House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has picked Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) to serve on the House Intelligence Committee, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill .
The House leader appointed the members on Wednesday, filling seats on a committee that has access to highly classified information and oversees the US intelligence community.
Perry, the former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, is seen as a controversial choice considering he was part of a federal investigation looking into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In December, a federal judge allowed prosecutors access to nearly 1,700 text messages from Perry, saying his communication before the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was not protected by his position as a lawmaker. His phone was seized by the FBI in August 2022.
The former HFC president said he was “humbled” to have been chosen.
“I look forward to providing not only a fresh perspective, but also conducting real oversight – not blind obedience to some facets of our Intel community that too often abuse their powers, resources and authority to spy on the American people,” said Perry in a declaration.
The seats were filled following the departures of Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who left Congress in recent months.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) is the committee chairman.
Mychael Schnell contributed.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
