There's no end date for the special committee, which is expected to last at least into the fall — prime midterm campaign time, in other words. That could explain some of Boehner's selections. Take first-term Rep. Susan Brooks, who recently won her primary against a challenger supported by some Tea Party groups. And Rep. Jim Jordan has repeatedly clashed with Boehner, who is also from Ohio. His appointment could be a move to placate him. Jordan, a conservative, has been floated as a possible challenger to Boehner's speakership in January. Many of the selectees also served on previous committees involved in Benghazi investigations: Brooks and Jordan are on the Oversight Committee with Gowdy, and Westmoreland and Pompeo are on the Intelligence Committee.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are still waiting for negotiations with Boehner to complete before deciding how to handle the special committee. As it stands, the Democrats have five spaces available for nominees to the committee (the Republicans had seven). And even though it seems as if some Democratic leaders, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are tempted to just rage-quit the whole thing and nominate no one, the party is not without representatives who are actually pretty into the idea of getting a spot on the panel. Mainly, that's because Republicans will bring in one person in particular to give testimony: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The absolute least surprising of the group of Democrats who have come forward and volunteered for the panel: Rep. Elijah Cummings. Cummings, who is the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, is great at political theater. Although those with sensitive eardrums might worry about putting Cummings up against the equally theatrical chair of the new committee, Rep. Gowdy, it makes a lot of sense to have someone like him in the room. As Politico reported, Cummings has said he's the Democrats' man to stand up to Republicans at the hearing.

As of Friday afternoon, negotiations between Pelosi's camp and Boehner's were ongoing. It's presumed that the Democrats will announce their decision once that has completed.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.