House Democrats Protest Plan for Benghazi Panel

House Democrats are protesting Speaker John Boehner's plan for a select committee to investigate Benghazi, insisting the panel be evenly split between the two parties.

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and whip Steny Hoyer have sent Boehner a letter accusing House Republicans of "extreme and counter-productive partisanship" in their investigations of the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The Democratic House leaders say "a fundamentally different approach" is needed for a select committee, including equal representation.

Boehner chose Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina to lead the committee. Gowdy said Wednesday that Republicans, who outnumber Republicans in the House, should get more seats on the panel than Democrats.