Congressional Leadership Roles Begin Taking Shape

Last week, House Republican Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) officially announced his intent to run for the ranking member position on the House Financial Services Committee. If elected, he will be sitting alongside Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), the committee’s newly elected chairwoman.

McHenry expressed his intent to fight back against what he expects to be an ambitious Democratic agenda. “I announce my candidacy to be the Ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee,” said McHenry. “I am fully prepared to fight back against any efforts by Democrats to use this committee to roll back our successes from the last two years or use the committee as the launch pad for endless, partisan investigations.”

Previously, McHenry was the vice chair of the Financial Services Committee and worked alongside Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX-5) who chaired the committee. Hensarling did not run for reelection in 2018.

Some speculated that Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3) may run for the ranking member spot, but he ended up endorsing McHenry. “Congressman Patrick McHenry will serve the Financial Services Committee well, working to find common ground with the Democratic Chair and serving as loyal opposition when the need arises,” said Luetkemeyer. “I offer my unwavering support for Patrick’s candidacy to be the Ranking Republican on the Committee, and believe he is the right man for the job.”

During the last two years, McHenry voted in favor regulatory relief for the financial sector and has urged his fellow congressmen to focus more on fintech. In 2016, McHenry introduced the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016 (H.R. 6118) which would have created a Financial Services Innovation Office (FSIO) in 12 federal regulating agencies that would be mandated to spur innovation in financial technology products. This may be something that reappears in the 116th Congress.