Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the chair of the Financial Services Committee who also served as speaker pro tempore following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of his term in January 2025.
“I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term,” McHenry said. “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,” he said in a statement.
The decision is a sharp reversal from late October, when he said he would seek re-election in 2024. It also adds to a string of Republican departures from Congress.
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“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 in his statement. “Those concerns are exaggerated.”
He continued, “I’ve seen a lot of change over twenty years. I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn… There are many smart and capable members who remain, and others are on their way. I’m confident the House is in good hands.”
McHenry, 48, was the youngest member of Congress when elected in 2004, and NBC News described him as a political agitator in his early career who later became a prominent conservative within House leadership as a chief deputy whip.
WRAL reported that McHenry’s 10th district is an established Republican seat, with North Carolina state Rep. Jason Saine (R-Lincoln) telling the news station that he has “already received a great number of calls and inquiries in a very short time span” to replace the congressman.
