The Man Who Wouldn’t be GOP Speaker Gladly Leaves The Spotlight

Oct. 26, 2023, 8:45 PM UTC

Patrick McHenry finally looked at ease. He was out of a deeply uncomfortable spotlight.

For the last three weeks the North Carolina Republican known for his bow ties and policy knowledge was thrust into the dramatic center of the GOP speaker fight as the speaker pro temp, charged with temporarily leading the House and overseeing the agonizing election to replace his friend and ally, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“Perhaps the dumbest set of politics or decision making a majority party in this institution can make,” McHenry said Thursday, describing the extended Republican upheaval with a mix of relief, anger, ...

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