Washington, D.C. – DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement today on House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s shameful admission that House Republicans “fought” to “put together a Benghazi” select committee at taxpayer expense to influence the 2016 presidential election:

“In the same week that House Republicans threatened to shut down the government and wasted taxpayer money on a baseless investigation over Planned Parenthood, we now hear from the House Majority Leader himself that Republicans in Congress ‘fought’ for a Benghazi select committee to improperly inject Congress into the 2016 presidential election, seeking to do political harm to former Secretary Hillary Clinton, who wasn't even a candidate at the time. It shows how far they'll go to put politics first and nation second. 

“This is why the American people are frustrated with Washington. Unfortunately, these antics aren’t limited to Congress. Republican presidential candidates were all too ready to support a government shutdown this week knowing that the last one cost our economy $24 billion. The American people deserve a president and representatives in Congress who will fight for them rather than for partisan political antics that waste taxpayers’ time and money.”