Deputy NRCC chairman appointed to Benghazi panel

The deputy chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), was among the six House Republicans appointed to the select Benghazi panel on Friday.

The NRCC came under fire this week for promoting a fundraising campaign called “Benghazi Watchdogs.” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday deflected questions about whether the NRCC should fundraise over the panel to investigate the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

As deputy NRCC chairman since the start of the 113th Congress, Westmoreland helps oversee the House GOP political strategy for the 2014 election cycle.

{mosads}Westmoreland, who has been a member of the House since 2004, also served as NRCC vice chairman in the 2010 cycle to head the organization’s redistricting efforts.

In a statement announcing his appointment to the select Benghazi panel, Westmoreland highlighted his work on the House Intelligence Committee and an informal working group on Benghazi. He currently chairs the House Intelligence subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

“I will work tirelessly with the other Select Committee members to present fair and honest conclusions, and to ensure that what happened on the night of Sept. 11, 2012, doesn’t happen again,” Westmoreland said.

“This investigation is about getting the truth for the families who deserve answers. That’s my only focus,” Westmoreland added in a statement Friday afternoon.

Democrats though seized on Westmoreland’s appointment as proof Republicans were politicizing the Benghazi investigation ahead of November’s midterms.

“The fact that John Boehner would install one of the leaders of the National Republican Congressional Committee on the Benghazi [panel] just cements the disgraceful reality: that Republicans will do anything to relentlessly fundraise off Benghazi and politicize this tragedy, no matter how repellent,” said Josh Schwerin, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee national press secretary.

This story was updated at 5:36 p.m.