Patrick McHenry looks back on 3 weeks in the hot seat

Justin Papp, CQ-Roll Call on Sep 17, 2025

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WASHINGTON — A storm was brewing in the House GOP around this time two years ago, and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy could feel it coming.

McCarthy had ascended to the speakership at the beginning of the 118th Congress under tumultuous circumstances. He won the top spot in the House after 15 ballots, and Freedom Caucus foes were a constant threat to his leadership. A historic vote would soon be called to oust McCarthy, and the California Republican needed to choose someone to temporarily fill his shoes after he was deposed.

He opted for Patrick T. McHenry, a man who had actively avoided leadership.

“I wanted someone who could work with all sides, someone who wasn’t seeking the job, someone who had been a committee chair. Patrick was a perfect fit,” McCarthy said Tuesday night in Statuary Hall.

McCarthy returned to the Hill to honor his friend, who served 10 terms in the House before his retirement at the end of 118th Congress, joined by family, friends and former colleagues.

McHenry was awarded the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s 2025 Freedom Award for his leadership during the 22 days he acted as speaker pro tempore, shepherding the House and a GOP conference in shambles. He was, according to McCarthy and Arkansas Republican Rep. French Hill, the 55th-and-a-half speaker of the House.

“[McCarthy] chose Patrick McHenry to lead the House and guide Republicans in an unprecedented time of turmoil and the unknown. At a mighty 5 feet, 2 inches, Patrick stood tall and guided our conference through those 22 days with poise and grace,” Hill said of the diminutive North Carolinian.

McHenry took the top spot only on a technicality. A post-9/11 rule requires the current speaker to keep a list of replacements in the event that he or she is unable to serve. McCarthy chose McHenry, who felt duty-bound to step up to the task for his friend.

“A weak speakership throws off the flywheel of American progress and the necessary constitutional checks on the other branches,” said McHenry, wearing one of his customary bow ties. “If one branch is weak, the whole government is off-kilter, so it’s necessary to defend that institution. And it was my honor, it was my duty, my obligation, to resist the decay of a strong speakership.”

The event, which in the past has been held in the winter, was moved to coincide with two other historic days, according to Jane L. Campbell, president and CEO of the Capitol Historical Society. Wednesday is the 238th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. And Thursday is the 232nd anniversary of when George Washington laid the cornerstone for the Capitol.

“American history is replete with stories of individuals who met the moment when circumstances demanded leadership,” Campbell said. “And only because there were people like Patrick McHenry who met the moment has our nation been able to long endure.”

Elected to Congress at 29, McHenry was known early in his career as a pugnacious partisan. But he soon gained a reputation both for his bow ties and for his seriousness as a lawmaker.

“I’m not sure you would recognize Patrick when he first arrived. Some called him an attack dog. Steny Hoyer called him a real pain in the neck,” McCarthy said. “Behind all the bomb-throwing and the bow ties was something deeper. Patrick loved our country.”

For a stretch, McHenry was chief deputy whip but, according to McCarthy, passed up a shot in leadership and declined to run for majority whip. Instead, he threw himself into his work on the House Financial Services Committee, where he was ranking member and eventually committee chair until his retirement.

But while so many others cling to power and linger in Congress, McHenry opted out. In December 2023, shortly after Mike Johnson, R-La., was elected the next House speaker, McHenry announced he wouldn’t seek another term.

McHenry has been gone less than a year but returned Tuesday to a very different Congress. During the ouster of McCarthy, President Donald Trump was still in the midst of his political comeback, and there was serious doubt that anyone could corral the unwieldy House Republican Conference. Today, the party has unified around Trump and controls both chambers.

Still, for many Congress-watchers, these are challenging times. Johnson was slated to attend McHenry’s gathering, but with negotiations over a stopgap spending package to keep the government open ongoing, he missed the celebration. The Freedom Caucus is weakened, but rogues such as Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have proven themselves perennial thorns in Johnson’s side.

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly refused to spend funds appropriated by Congress and has moved to assert power over the Library of Congress and other agencies.

McHenry described the House as a place filled with “real people trying to do the best they can, and in often difficult, divided moments.”

“Article One … is the legislative branch, the most dynamic, fluid branch, closest to the people,” he said. “Still, it’s always been on a knife’s edge of descending into chaos.”