Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) joked that his sister sent him “the cruelest things” people said about him on the internet after his famous gavel slam affirming the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) became a meme, the News and Observer reported.
McHenry, who retired from the House at the end of this term, was catapulted into the role of Speaker pro tempore after McCarthy, a friend of his, was ousted from the Speakership in a historic vote in October 2023. As the vote closed, a visibly frustrated McHenry stood at the dais and banged the gavel — hard.
That moment became an almost-instant meme, earning jokes, laughs and banter from people across the country, including his older sister, who reported back on all the commentary.
"She knew that was exactly what I needed,” McHenry told the News and Observer.
“I mean, truly. And she sent me some of the funniest stuff, and like some of the meanest stuff, and gave me her commentary about all of it," he said.
"When you look like me and you’re my size, you better have a good sense of humor.”
The viral moment proved to be vastly different from the uncertainty and chaos of the next three weeks as House Republicans struggled to coalesce around a replacement for McCarthy, leaving McHenry in a position no one had ever had to fill before.
“I’ve studied the institution and it’s one thing to understand checks and balances in a cerebral way, or study it,” McHenry told the newspaper. “It’s another thing to be in it. What the Founding Fathers envisioned was you would primarily want to be jealous for your branch of government and then, in fighting for that branch, [provide] the checks and balances to the American people; their liberties are protected.”
His comments come amid uncertainty about who will serve as Speaker in the 119th Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who ultimately replaced McCarthy, was nominated unanimously by House Republicans but must still win a floor vote on Jan. 3. Anger within his conference over his handling of a government funding bill this month — and a razor-thin majority that only allows him to lose one vote — could make his path difficult.
Either way, McHenry affirmed the choice will be crucial to the next four years of leadership.
“The House is meaningful because we empowered the speaker to be on par with the president, to negotiate on our behalf and to have the powers of the institution,” McHenry said.
“The president pro tempore of the Senate is a ceremonial gig. The speaker is a meaningful negotiator of outcomes. So if we diminish the powers of the institution, if we diminish the powers of the speakership, we diminish the powers of the House; we then throw out of alignment the constitutional balance since the first Congress.”
