Powerful NC congressman announces he will not seek re-election
The 10th Congressional District currently covers part of Rutherford County
Editor’s note: For more on Patrick McHenry view my previous reporting.
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, arguably the highest-ranking and most powerful member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, will not seek reelection. The ten-term congressman from western North Carolina issued a statement today saying he will retire when his current term ends in January of 2025. The following is an excerpt:
“I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term. 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.
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. It is a truly special place and—as an American—my service here is undoubtedly my proudest. Since being sworn in January 3rd, 2005, I have worked every day to uphold the Constitution and the system of government our founders so wisely created.”
McHenry was first elected to the House in 2005 at the comparatively tender age of 29. He had previously served a term in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Though he came to Washington with a reputation as a hard charging arch conservative, he eventually opted for a path of working mostly behind the scenes and soon found himself rising through GOP leadership ranks. That rise peaked earlier this fall when he found himself serving as acting Speaker of the House in the aftermath of the resignation of Kevin McCarthy.
Though his name was floated at times in different circles as a possible permanent replacement for McCarthy, McHenry’s past loyalty to McCarthy and inclination toward finding ways to pass legislation and accommodate competing interests made such a possibility anathema to the Republican right wing. He never openly campaigned for the position.
When it comes to policy, McHenry has rarely strayed from modern conservative orthodoxy on substantive issues. While serving in the North Carolina General Assembly, McHenry was a vocal defender of high interest consumer finance and payday lending industries and that stance continued throughout his time in the House, where he currently chairs the House Finacial Services Committee that he joined two decades earlier. As Newsline reported earlier today, McHenry is currently helping to block a bipartisan Senate bill opposed by industry that would require screening of U.S. private investments in high-tech enterprises in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
Though McHenry characterized his decision to leave Congress as “retiring,” it would be surprising if he permanently exited public life. At just 48 years of age, he would seem well-positioned to follow the path of many other former members of Congress into the lucrative world of lobbying and consulting. A run for statewide office in North Carolina might also be another possibility, though McHenry has never been known as a powerful speaker or campaigner.
In his official statement, he merely indicated that “I look forward to what the next season brings for my family and me.”
Cops & Congress by Annie Dance is a service journalism newsletter, focusing on police, policy, and public records in the Lake Lure, NC area. It is free to read, but it is not free to produce. Please click on the button below to support my work.
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