House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement regarding House passage of the Establishment of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding Benghazi:
"Four Americans died in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 -- including a U.S. Ambassador. We asked for answers. We demanded documents. The Administration withheld key emails until forced to hand them over to a watchdog group under the Freedom of Information Act.
"Now, after learning that the Administration willfully misled the American people--learning from documents the Administration purposefully withheld from the American people--the Administration says Republicans are playing politics for asking what else we don't know.
"It is not politics to demand the truth. It is not politics to get answers. Congressional committees of jurisdiction have worked tirelessly to investigate what happened in Benghazi and uncover a truth the Administration continues to obscure. We have now been forced--after 20 months of asking and trying and trying again--to take the extraordinary step of appointing a special select committee to find answers to the questions this Administration does not want to answer.
"I have every faith in my friend and colleague Trey Gowdy to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, and it is my hope that the Administration will finally cooperate."