Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) tried to propose an amendment to the Rules Committee last night that would dissolve the House Select Committee on Benghazi. She serves as the ranking member on that committee. Republicans blocked it. Today, she’s putting forward a privileged resolution to get rid of the committee that Democrats accuse of being a political stunt aimed at influencing the 2016 presidential election (via NBC News/Luke Russert):
The resolution reads in partWhereas a widely-quoted statement made on September 29th, 2015 by Representative Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Leader of the House of Representatives, has called into question the integrity of the proceedings of the Select Committee and the House of Representatives as a whole;
Whereas this statement by Representative McCarthy demonstrates that the Select Committee established by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives was created to influence public opinion of a presidential candidate;
The resolution is a procedural tactic that will force House Republicans to take a public vote on the floor to keep the Benghazi Committee operational.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the presumptive successor to outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), has plunged this investigation into crisis mode after he commented that the committee’s existence–and its investigation–is hurting Hillary’s poll numbers. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who is running against McCarthy, called the remarks “absolutely terrible.” The chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), said that people should look at the work the committee has done. It’s not focused on Hillary; it’s focused on finding out what really happened in Libya on September 11, 2012. Gowdy, who is friends with McCarthy, acknowledged that he has apologized for the remarks repeatedly, but that doesn’t undo the damage that’s been done.
He said, "How many times can somebody apologize? Yes, he’s apologized as many times as a human can apologize. It doesn’t change it. It doesn’t fix it. The only thing you can say is, instead of listening to someone else’s words, why don’t you look at our actions?”
It seems as if McCarthy has given Democrats a huge gift; forcing votes that undermine the committee’s credibility and undercutting his legitimacy as our next speaker.
Updates to follow