North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who presided temporarily over the US House for three intense weeks while Republicans struggled to elect a permanent speaker, announced Tuesday that he won't seek reelection to his seat next year. McHenry, who was first elected to the House in 2004 at age 29, unveiled his surprise decision as candidate filing started this week in North Carolina, per the AP. He represents the 10th District covering several counties north and west of Charlotte entering the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
McHenry had announced his reelection campaign in late October, just two days after the completion of another congressional redistricting by the Republican-controlled legislature that kept the reconfigured 10th District on the GOP side of the ledger. That announcement also came two days after House Republicans ultimately got behind Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to become the next speaker. McHenry's news release didn't explain his reversal. "I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term," he wrote. "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."
Known as the bow tie-wearing chairman of the Financial Services Committee, McHenry had risen through the House Republican ranks in recent years. As a top lieutenant to Kevin McCarthy, McHenry helped him win the speaker's contest in January and negotiate the debt limit deal made with President Biden earlier this year. McHenry was thrust into a starker spotlight in October when McCarthy was pushed out of his speaker job in a historic vote. According to House rules, McHenry was picked from a list McCarthy was required to keep and became the acting speaker—also known as speaker pro tempore—until the chamber figured out who would be the next leader.
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