The House voted on Thursday to set up a special panel to investigate the Benghazi embassy attacks in 2012.
Unsurprisingly the vote pretty much followed party lines 232-186, and some Democrats are contemplating a boycott of the 12-member panel, reports Reuters. The commission is expected to consist of seven Republicans and five Democrats and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) will likely be named chairman.
Democrats argued for six of each side, but Republicans insisted because they have a House majority, they should also have a majority on the Benghazi panel.
The Wall Street Journal reports Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said, "The White House is engaged in a pattern of obstruction, consistently ignoring subpoenas, redacting relevant information and stonewalling investigators."
Republicans say the panel is important to look into the Benghazi attacks on Sept. 11, 2012, which ended with the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three American citizens. They believe that the Obama administration didn't do enough to prevent their deaths and then essentially lied about the events after they happened.
Democrats see the panel as nothing more than a political move attempting to grab attention ahead of the congressional elections later this year. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said, "There's no question that this select committee will waste potentially millions of taxpayer dollars in a purely partisan exercise, and serve as little more than a fundraising vehicle for Republicans."