Kevin McCarthy revisits his remarks about Benghazi and Hillary Clinton
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, tried again to clean up remarks he made that seemed to suggest the work of the select committee investigating Benghazi was political, and that it had a role in Hillary Clinton's falling poll numbers.
"I did not intend to imply in any way that that work was political. Of course it is not, look at the way they have carried themselves out," he told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview Thursday.
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He continued, "The point I was trying to make - and I want to be very clear about this - I wasn't saying the committee was political. That committee is solely to get the truth out."
The remarks he sought to clarify were made Tuesday night. "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?" said McCarthy, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought and made that happen."
Clinton called his comments "deeply distressing" and "a grave disservice" to everybody who's served the country," and her spokesman, Brian Fallon responded with a statement that said, "Kevin McCarthy just confessed that the committee set up to look into the deaths of four brave Americans at Benghazi is a taxpayer-funded sham."
McCarthy has since talked with the Benghazi Select Committee Chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina. "I talked to Trey. I told him I regret that this has ever taken place and it was never my intention," McCarthy said. "Trey goes, 'I know it wasn't your intention because you know it's not political.'"
The gaffe has caused some grumbling among Republicans, who will be deciding next week whether to cast a vote for McCarthy to replace outgoing House Speaker John Boehner. McCarthy said he's close to getting enough votes to win, but admitted the incident hasn't exactly helped him. "It's been a setback, yes."
CBS News' Alicia Amling contributed to this report