() Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said Tuesday that he will not seek reelection, prompting a wave of celebration from his critics on the Right who were leery of the longtime lawmaker after he was foisted by happenstance into the public eye this year.
BREAKING:
RINO Congressman and McCarthy ally @PatrickMcHenry will not be running for re-election in 2024.
Another RINO exit.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 5, 2023
RINO Rep Patrick McHenry says he will not seek re-election… Bye!
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) December 5, 2023
“I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term,” McHenry said.
“This is not a decision I came to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and— for me—this season has come to an end,” he added. “I look forward to what the next season brings for my family and me.”
For three weeks in October following the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., McHenry led the chamber in the interim.
During that time, he said he was focused on getting the next speaker and did not want the position himself.
Nonetheless, rumors flew of an Establishment-backed campaign to block preferred speaker picks, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, with the end outcome being to secure the role permanently for McHenry, with or without a formal consensus.
As a result, he became the target of ire for some, who had hoped the Trump-endorsed Jordan could help lay the stage for an America First agenda in Congress ahead of the 2024 election.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., was elected speaker by his colleagues Oct. 25, making moot many of the concerns and objections on the Right.
Still, some criticized McHenry—the chief deputy GOP whip and chair of the Financial Services Committee—for some of the other things he had done to undermine conservative values, most notably his capitulation to Democrats during federal spending negotiations.
Bannon: “@PatrickMcHenry is retiring bc of this audience. He cut the worst deal in the history of Congress to allow Biden to spend $14-15 trillion & run unlimited deficits. McHenry was lead negotiator.”
“He’s OUT. Ladies & gentlemen, that’s a SCALP.” https://t.co/4WJb1cRtnG pic.twitter.com/TLok2r2ImB
— Grace Chong 🇺🇸 (@gc22gc) December 5, 2023
McHenry, known in part for his dapper attire inclusive of bow ties, is expected to finish his term. The 48-year-old has held a seat on the Financial Services Committee since his election in November 2004 at the age of 29.
His rise through the ranks included 2015 selection as the chief deputy whip to Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. He has never voted for a tax increase.
“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,” McHenry said.
“Those concerns are exaggerated,” he continued. “I’ve seen a lot of change over 20 years. I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn.”
Pointing to several of the wave elections—from the Watergate-era backlash that brought Democrats into power, to Newt Gingrich’s 1994 “Contract with America” to the 2010 midterm where Republicans handed then-President Barack Obama a “shellacking”—he noted that the inter-party politics often mirrored the tumultuous external changes in the public mood.
“Evolutions are often lumpy and disjointed, but at each stage, new leaders emerge,” McHenry said.
“There are many smart and capable members who remain, and others are on their way,” he added. “I’m confident the House is in good hands.”
McHenry has been serving an area from the suburbs of Charlotte on Lake Norman to Pisgah National Forest in Burke County.
The first 24 hours of North Carolina’s filing deadline became as much about who was not running as who was, with McHenry one among many high-profile retiring legislators at both the state and federal levels.
The filing period opened Monday at noon across the state, where 14 seats in Congress will be on the ballot along with all 10 Council of State offices and the 170 seats of the state General Assembly.
Hours before it started, Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, was the first notable lawmaker saying no to reelection.
Republican Pat Harrigan’s choice to now run in the 10th District—where McHenry would have—opens the door for North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore to be unchallenged in the Super Tuesday primary if he announces a run in the 14th District. Through Monday, Harrigan had been campaigning in the 14th.
Krawiec’s decision not to run is notable because of her ties to Medicaid expansion, an issue her party long fought. The decision was reached in March, provided a state budget was enacted, and that happened in September. The official expansion was Friday.
Krawiec, who said she will finish her term, was also a significant part of Republicans’ push in 2018 to implement voter ID. A ballot referendum easily passed, with 55.5% of more than 3.6 million voters saying yes.
Another notable state lawmaker not running will be Rep. Rosa Gill, D-Wake. She filled a vacancy in 2009 and has been reelected each term since. She told a local radio station, “I’ve served long enough.”
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
