What Will the Benghazi Select Committee Look Like?

Who’s going to serve on the Select Committee on Benghazi? Aside from Chairman-designate Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, it’s not yet clear who will sit on it. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Whip Steny Hoyer sent a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner urging him to make the panel equal in its representation. However, the Speaker has determined that seven Republicans and five Democrats would be tapped for the committee. Some Democrats have suggested that they would not participate, which would be even more likely in the absence of an evenly divided committee. Although Democrats have charged that this is a political ploy, Representative Gowdy tried to fight against these charges, telling Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that the party should not make campaign hay out of it.

Across the Capitol, another group was clamoring to get on the Select Committee: Senate Republicans. For example, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Senator John McCain of Arizona both publicly spoke in favor of having a bicameral committee. Senator McCain pointed out that “the Senate has its responsibilities as well as the House”. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, said that the idea of a bicameral committee was a non-starter. “No, we’re not going to do any select special committee over here on Benghazi,” he said, according to The Hill. The House is expected to vote on the creation of the panel later this week.

USA Today: House Benghazi Committee Would Cut Out Other Panels

Roll Call: Benghazi Committee: Democrats Warn Boehner About Partisan Makeup

The Hill: Senate GOP: We Want In On Probe

Politico: Trey Gowdy to GOP: No Benghazi Fundraising

N.C. Senate Primary and Polarization

Last night a number of states had primary elections, and one of the most watched was the North Carolina Republican Senate primary. Thom Tillis, the Speaker of North Carolina’s House of Representatives, was victorious over a handful of more conservative candidates. “Were Tillis to win in November, the Senate would be getting someone whose political beliefs look much more similar to [Senator Chuck] Grassley’s than [Senator Ted] Cruz’s”, Washington Post contributor John Sides writes. In other words, those concerned about the polarization of the Senate can be a bit more at ease with a Tillis victory.

Washington Post: What the N.C. Republican Primary Means for Senate Polarization

And for our latest post: Using the “Pen and Phone” to Blur the Separation of Powers