McCarthy names fellow GOP Rep. Turner to replace Nunes as top Republican on Intelligence committee

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has appointed fellow GOP Rep. Mike Turner as the top Republican on the chamber's Intelligence committee, setting up the Ohio lawmaker to lead the powerful panel should their party, as widely expected, wins the majority next year.

McCarthy, a California Republican, made the announcement Thursday, replacing the committee's top Republican, California Rep. Devin Nunes. He is leaving Congress to become the CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group.

"Congressman Turner’s commitment to this country is unwavering," McCarthy said in a statement obtained by NBC News. "Throughout his long tenure on the Intelligence Committee, Mike established himself as a national security leader and ardent supporter of truth."

Turner's appointment is effectives Saturday, upon Nunes' resignation.

Republicans are projected to retake control of the lower chamber for several reasons including historical trends showing the political party not in the White House having big congressional midterm gains, Democrat President Joe Biden's low poll numbers and a significant number of House Democrats retiring.

With control of the chamber comes the authority to set the legislative agenda for its powerful investigative committees, which Democrats did in 2018, after GOP President Trump's first two years in office, allow Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff to lead the Intelligence committee that ran a roughly 14-month investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia to try to influence the outcome of the race.

However, Turner has been a critic of Trump, particularly during Democrats' first attempt to impeach the former president over allegations he sought help from Ukraine to improve his chances of reelection.

"I want to say to the president, this is not OK," Turner said in a 2019 congressional hearing, also according to NBC News. "That conversation is not OK. And I think it's disappointing to the American public when they read the transcript."