A Footnote to the McCarthy Resignation
McHenry has no more terms to give to his country.
I should have covered this in my post yesterday, but it is noteworthy that another recent member of House GOP leadership is not seeking re-election. Via WaPo: Rep. Patrick McHenry, who briefly served as acting House speaker, will not seek reelection.
McHenry will join the more than three dozen House members who have announced they will not seek reelection in 2024, because they are either retiring or seeking other office. His planned departure is among the most high-profile.
McHenry’s district, which covers parts of central and western North Carolina to the northwest of Charlotte, is likely to stay in Republican hands. Donald Trump won the district by more than 36 points in 2020, and McHenry has repeatedly won reelection by landslide margins, most recently with nearly 73 percent of the vote in 2022.
I do not find his retirement to be especially noteworthy, in and of itself, and the history books will note him primarily for his cameo in the McCarthy ouster (and the gavel heard ’round the world). But it is noteworthy that the fallout from Matt Gaetz’s motion to vacate has lead to significant shifts in the party’s leadership pool in the House (a trend, that I noted in that previous post, that has been ongoing for some time).
In his statement Tuesday, McHenry downplayed “handwringing and ink spilled” about the future of Congress as an institution, saying he had witnessed plenty of change over his 20 years in the House.
“I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn,” McHenry said. “Whether it’s 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. There are many smart and capable members who remain, and others are on their way. I’m confident the House is in good hands.”
I will agree with “lumpy and disjointed” but less so about “good hands.”
![Jordan Backs Patrick McHenry as Super-Temporary Speaker [UPDATED]](https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/patrick-mchenry-512x256.webp)
How do you solve a problem like Matt Gaetz?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you get rid of a Florida pervert?
A flibbertigibbet
A will-o’-the-wisp
A clown
I can remember when McHenry first entered Congress, running as the most conservative of the conservatives and trying to brand himself as a rabble-rouser. He has a catchy name, very memorable, and he parlayed that into a long-term job as a Representative.
I would like to know his thinking. Is it, “this won’t be fun if I’m no longer part of the leadership” and he predicts that he won’t be? Or is it, “this won’t be fun when we don’t have the majority” and he predicts that he won’t be? Or is it more, “Every day I have to listen to Matt Gaetz is a bad day, and I’m too old for that many bad days.”
He’s spent a long time in Congress with Jim Jordan, so that can’t be the irritant. I’m a lot more curious about his reasons than I am about McCarthy’s.
@Jay L Gischer:
E) All of the above.
Left unsaid in all this is that for most of McHenry’s career he was widely thought to be one of the biggest a**hats in congress and now he is regarded as one of the normal Republicans.
This change in perception has occurred without, as far as I can tell, McHenry changing one bit. This says something important about the Republican party.
Yeah … So he believes that ‘Good hands’ = the likes of Gaetz, Jordan, Boebert, Taylor Green, Biggs, Gosar, Johnson, and Perry?
Thanks for coming, Patrick.
Guys like McHenry are why America can’t have nice things any more (if we ever did …)