Patrick McHenry, ex-Speaker pro tempore, to retire at end of term

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chair of the Financial Services Committee who memorably served as the Speaker pro tempore after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was unseated, said Tuesday he will retire at the end of this Congress.

The announcement puts a bookend on McHenry’s nearly two-decade tenure in Congress that this year put him at the center of attention during the McCarthy drama. McHenry was generally applauded by members on both sides of the aisle for how he handled that situation, and there was talk of whether he’d become Speaker.

“I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term,” McHenry wrote in a statement. “This is not a decision I come to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and—for me—this season has come to an end.”

McHenry’s announcement is a reversal from late October, when the North Carolina Republican said he would run for reelection in the state’s newly drawn 10th Congressional District. The area is a safe GOP stronghold — it broke for former President Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020.

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McHenry, 48, did not say why he flipped on his plans, but he is currently serving his third — and what could have been his final — term as Financial Services Committee chairman. GOP conference rules only allow lawmakers to serve three conservative terms as top Republican on the committee. If vying for a third stretch as chair, lawmakers must receive a waiver for the top job.

McHenry, who was first elected to the House in 2004, rose to the top of the chamber in October when he was named Speaker pro tempore immediately following the stunning — and historic — ouster of McCarthy.

McHenry’s name was the first on a list of replacements McCarthy provided to the clerk’s office in case the Speakership suddenly became vacant. Submitting the list became a requirement of the Speaker after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack to ensure continuity of government.

Lawmakers from both parties pushed to expand McHenry’s powers during his time in the job to allow the chamber to resume legislative business, a prospect that the North Carolina Republican dismissed. McHenry said he studied the power vested in a Speaker pro tempore and came to the conclusion that his only role was to preside over the election of a new Speaker.

McHenry himself received some votes for Speaker during the marathon race.

When Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was finally sworn into the top job, three weeks after McCarthy’s ouster, McHenry received bipartisan applause in the chamber.

Before the Speaker saga, McHenry played a key role in negotiations over the debt ceiling, which ended with a deal between President Biden and McCarthy to raise the borrowing limit. McHenry was a lead GOP negotiator, engaging with White House officials to avoid an economic default.

“Past, present, and future, the House of Representatives is the center of our American republic. Through good and bad, during the highest of days and the lowest, and from proud to infamous times, the House is the venue for our nation’s disagreements bound up in our hopes for a better tomorrow,” McHenry said in his statement on Tuesday.

McHenry is the latest in a string of lawmakers who have decided to leave Congress at the end of next year. The North Carolina Republican, however, cautioned against drawing conclusions about the fate of Congress based on that growing list.

“There has been a great deal of handwringing and ink spilled about the future of this institution because some—like me—have decided to leave. Those concerns are exaggerated,” McHenry said. “I’ve seen a lot of change over twenty years. I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn. Whether its 1974, 1994, or 2010, we’ve seen the House evolve over time.”

“Evolutions are often lumpy and disjointed but at each stage, new leaders emerge,” he continued. “There are many smart and capable members who remain, and others are on their way. I’m confident the House is in good hands.”

Updated at 1:31 p.m.