Who Is Rep. Patrick McHenry: Interim House Speaker After McCarthy’s Ouster

Forbes Business Breaking Who Is Rep. Patrick McHenry: Interim House Speaker After McCarthy’s Ouster Brian Bushard Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes Following Oct 3, 2023, 05:54pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.

) was ousted from the speakership on Tuesday after less than nine months at the helm of the chamber, after a group of far-right Republicans partnered with Democrats to remove him from the role, marking the first time in American history that a House Speaker has been booted and setting up a temporary speakership for Republican North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry. Rep.

Patrick McHenry (R-N. C. ) was named House Speaker pro tempore.

Getty Images Key Facts McHenry will serve as interim House speaker in his speaker pro tempore role until the chamber selects a permanent replacement, which could also be McCarthy, though a handful of Republicans have been speculated to make runs for the speakership. The North Carolina Republican had been chosen as interim speaker in a secret process required under House rules after McCarthy was voted in as speaker in January, though his name was only revealed after McCarthy was removed. McHenry, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, was elected to the House in 2005 representing North Carolina’s primarily rural 10th Congressional District, and previously served as House Republican chief deputy whip.

McHenry, 47, who worked as a director in former President George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, had also been instrumental in the bipartisan debt ceiling negotiations earlier this year, which passed the House in May by a vote of 314-117, and gained national attention for his opposition to increased banking oversight measures in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse earlier this year. McHenry, a key McCarthy ally, had also been speculated for a speakership run leading up to the vote to vacate the speaker, though McHenry backed McCarthy, asking on the House floor why far-right members of the House opposed the continued resolution passed Saturday to temporarily keep the government funded for 45 days, and asking why Republicans would “give up a conservative working majority for better outcomes and hand the keys over to the Democrats?” What We Don’t Know Who will replace McHenry.

Rep. Matt Gaetz—the far-right Florida Republican who brought the motion to vacate after claiming McCarthy failed to reach a series of agreements to cut the federal budget—had floated several names in recent weeks, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La. ) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.

). Both Republicans, however, rejected the idea and objected to the vote to vacate. Rep.

Andy Biggs (R-Ariz. )—who voted in favor of McCarthy’s ouster—had also been speculated to make a run, and ran against him in January in a process that ultimately took 15 rounds to elect McCarthy speaker. Biggs posted this week that he challenged McCarthy over fears the California Republican would “not rein in federal spending and take on Democrats,” claiming those fears “are now reality.

” News Peg The House voted 216-210 in favor of removing McCarthy from the speaker’s office, with eight Republicans joining all House Democrats present in supporting his removal, after a failed vote to table the expulsion resolution. Further Reading McCarthy Ousted: First House Speaker Ever Booted From The Job (Forbes) House Speaker Emmer? Scalise? Here Are Rumored Successors As House Removes McCarthy. (Forbes) Send me a secure tip .

Brian Bushard Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.