Congressman, thanks for joining us, Mr. Chairman. I want to start on the news this morning. The Israeli military says it has withdrawn some ground forces from Khanunis in Southern Gaza, though a significant force remains in other parts of Gaza. How significant is this move?

Well, I think you're certainly seeing some efforts to respond to the White House's vocal criticism of the operations of Israel in Gaza. As you indicated, I think this is the sixth month demarcation of the horrific attack that occurred October seventh, and then the subsequent declaration by Israel that they would enter Gaza for the purposes of eliminating Hamas. Today, the Palestinians in Gaza remain hostages to Hamas, and Hamas has not been eliminated. We've seen, I think, an overconfidence of Israel on its intelligence, both when it failed to see October seventh and when it went into Gaza to eliminate Hamas. That has been, I part of the outcome that we've seen of the both haphazardous and dangerous military operations that have resulted in unacceptable civilian deaths, and certainly the food crisis that you described.

This comes as more negotiations for a ceasefire and release of the hostages are beginning. Does this move by Israel to withdraw some troops from Gaza? Does it make you more optimistic, the news that Israel is sending a delegation to Cairo? And what's your position on the urgency of a ceasefire with the return of hostages?

Well, the CIA Director, Director Burns, has done an excellent job in shuttle diplomacy and trying to bring all of the parties together to get the hostages released and to get a ceasefire. Quite frankly, it seems that almost President Biden has been asleep at the wheel as he has not responded to the crisis as it's unfolded, now making public statements, criticizing Netanyahu, criticizing Israel. When this has been going on for some time, Director Burns has tried desperately to get a ceasefire and to get the hostages released. I think he's done an excellent job. Certainly, the last ceasefire and hostage just that were released were a result of his efforts. I think I put a great deal of faith in the work that he's doing, and I'm certainly hopeful that that will result in both hostages release and a ceasefire, so additional humanitarian aid can get to the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the US is actively preparing for Iran to strike after Israel killed a high-ranking Iranian military officials who were at a diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria. Can you be any more specific about the nature of the threat from Iran? Are Americans in danger?

Well, I think Americans in the area remain in danger. Remember, Ibranian proxies have continued to attack US troops in the area, again, with the Biden administration being slow to respond and ultimately responding to those attacks. And of course, the United States has moved additional capabilities and assets in the area to deter Iran from entering into this conflict directly with Israel, although their proxy is Hamas, which the conflict is directly with, and Hezbollah continues to be a threat to Israel in Lebanon. But I think what we're seeing here is certainly the consulate in Syria was a legitimate target for Israel because Iran certainly is the source of which all this is coming. At the same time, it still is very unwise as we were trying to put pressure on Iran to keep them out of this conflict, both with US presence and with our response to the attacks on our own troops. This certainly does escalate the issue throughout the entire region.

Let's turn to Ukraine, an issue that's important to you and your fellow Republican chairman, Michael McCall, who runs the Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman McCall made a comment this week about what he says sounds like Russian propaganda from some conservative media and why it's so difficult to explain to Republican voters why supporting Ukraine is important. He told Julia Yoffy, I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it's infected a good chunk of my party's base. He singled out primetime shows on conservative channels. Do you agree with him, and how big is this problem?

It is absolutely true. We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor. There are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which, of course, it is not. Vladimir Putin, having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, and including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia's. Now, to the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian versus democracy battle, which what it is. President Xi of China, Vladimir Putin himself, have identified it as such. We need to stand up for democracy. We need to make certain that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression. Ukraine needs our help and assistance now, and this is a very critical time for the US Congress to step up and provide that aid.

Speaker Johnson's leadership is in trouble if he puts a bill providing aid to Ukraine on the floor, according to Marjorie Taylor-Green, your colleague from Georgia, who has already threatened a motion to vacate. How worried should Speaker Johnson be?

I don't think he's at any risk. I think that what people have been referring to as the Chaos Cau, those individuals who are seeking attention for themselves and trying to stop all of the important work in Congress, are now seen as merely disruptive. Hakeim Jeffrey's minority leader on the Democratic side has made it clear that the Democrats will not join with efforts to unseat Johnson as we, this year, approaching the election, undertake the most important work of Congress, which, of course, is making certain we fund the government, make certain that these national security packages pass, and, of course, that our Foreign Surveillance Reauthorization Act passes.

Yeah, let's talk about that, because Speaker Johnson announced this weekend that the House is going to vote on that for surveillance bill to reform and extend authority for spy agencies, for them to be able to conduct surveillance of foreign intelligence on domestic soil. It's known as FISA. There have been abuses in the past. I know this has been a contentious issue between you and House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, who have different views on this. Are you going to vote for this latest version of the FISA bill, and do you think it will have the votes to pass?

Absolutely. The Intelligence Committee was instrumental in drafting the bill that's going to the House floor. Jake, I appreciate you raising this issue because this is surveillance of foreigners who are abroad. We're not surveilling foreigners in the United States. We're not surveilling Americans in the United States. Those individuals who say this is a warrantless search of Americans data are just not telling the truth. These are foreigners abroad. They're a select group of individuals who are a national security threat. If you're an American and you're corresponding with ISIS, yes, if we're spying on ISIS, your communications are going to be captured. You would want us to do that. All Americans would want us to try to make certain that we keep ourselves safe from these outside terrorist groups and organizations. We are not spying on Americans. This is not a warrantless surveillance program. This is foreigners who are abroad only, and this needs to pass.

And do you think it has the votes? It will?

I think it does. I think it will. I think that those who mischaracterize this are small compared to those who understand that this goes to the heart of our ability to get intelligence that allows us to be able to keep Americans safe. This is not a warrantless surveillance of Americans.

All right, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, congressman Mike Turner of Ohio. Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your.