Here are the Democrats Picked for Benghazi Committee Duty
Pelosi picks Armed Service Committee's Smith and veteran Tammy Duckworth to joust with GOP's Benghazi team. By Elahe Izadi and Sarah Mimms
After weeks of internal debate, House Democrats will join the select committee to investigate the Benghazi attack after all and send a full delegation of five members, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday.
Oversight Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings, who has served as the Democratic counterweight to Chairman Darrell Issa's Benghazi hearings, will serve as the ranking member.
The decision comes after days of negotiations with Republican leadership, in which Democrats had hoped to convince the majority to grant them equal representation on the panel as well as greater oversight over subpoenas and testimony.
It was unclear Wednesday afternoon just how much, if at all, Republicans budged on those issues. Pelosi and House Speaker John Boehner met on Tuesday to discuss potential changes to the committee's operations. "We have offered assurances on committee procedures, but no substantive changes that could hurt the investigation," a House GOP leadership aide said.
The other members of the committee are:
- Adam Smith, D-Wash., who is the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee,
- Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who serves on the Intelligence Committee,
- Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., who serves on the Ways and Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee, and
- Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who serves on the Armed Services and Oversight committees and is also an Iraq War veteran.
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