Speaker Johnson picks Perry, Jackson for Intel panel

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) 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 named the members Wednesday, filling the seats on a committee that has access to highly confidential information and provides oversight of the U.S. intelligence community. 

Perry, the former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, is seen as a controversial choice, considering he was part of a federal probe looking into the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. A federal judge in December allowed prosecutors access to nearly 1,700 text messages from Perry, saying that his communication in the lead-up to the attack on the Capitol on Jan.6, 2021, was not protected through his position as a lawmaker. His phone was seized by the FBI in August 2022. 

The former Freedom Caucus chair said he was “humbled” to be picked.  

“I look forward to providing not only a fresh perspective, but conducting actual oversight — not blind obedience to some facets of our Intel Community that all too often abuse their powers, resources, and authority to spy on the American People,” Perry said in a statement. 

The seats were filled following the exits of Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Chris Stewart (R-Utah), both of whom left Congress in recent months.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) is the committee chair.

Mychael Schnell contributed.