Paul Ryan is reflecting on his legacy as House speaker in the wake of his announcement that he will not seek re-election this November. Among the things he’s proud of was the recent budget deal to increase defense spending, claiming it will strengthen America’s national security. But money isn’t everything, especially in national security.

Sadly, Ryan has presided over the abrupt destruction of one of Congress’s most important national security functions: intelligence oversight. As the sole person in this country with the ability to rein in or replace the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Devin Nunes, Ryan bears ultimate responsibility for Nunes’ bizarre and counterproductive behavior.

HPSCI is one of the few remaining “Select” Committees in Congress, meaning the speaker alone picks the committee chair and the membership for the Republicans. (The minority leader does the same for the Democrats.) Under House rules, the speaker may, at any time, remove any member of a select committee at his or her discretion. In the past, members have been stripped of their committee assignments for causing problems for the leadership. Thus, unlike other committees, where the caucus or a steering committee has a say in the committee leadership, HPSCI is effectively under Ryan’s thumb. So he owns Nunes’ shameful handling of the Russia probe, and his hijinks on behalf of the White House.