"Leader McCarthy has committed the classic Washington gaffe of saying something everyone knows is true," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

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McCarthy's comments drew the ire of Democrats, who said they were proof the House's Benghazi probe is a partisan attempt to attack a Democratic front-runner during the presidential campaign.

"Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee," he said on Fox News's "Hannity" Tuesday night. "What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable."

McCarthy is considered the likely successor to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who is stepping down at the end of next month.

Both Boehner and House Benghazi Select Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) have gone to great lengths to insist the Benghazi investigation is nonpartisan.