Rep. Patrick McHenry

While McHenry has taken millions of dollars from the financial industry, he has been a staunch opponent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, going as far as calling its first director an “‘unelected and unaccountable’” bureaucrat and repeatedly supporting legislation weakening the Bureau’s authority and effectiveness.

In February 2023, McHenry joined the financial industry in bashing the CFPB’s efforts to protect consumers from credit card late fees after receiving over $1.1 million in campaign contributions from the three banking trade groups opposed to the CFPB’s credit card rule and the eight largest U.S. credit card issuers.

Rep. Patrick McHenry has received nearly $190,000 from the payday industry, the third most of any sitting member of Congress.

Unsurprisingly, McHenry has worked to benefit the industry, twice introducing legislation making it easier for predatory lenders to avoid state interest rate caps through “rent-a-bank” partnerships.

Rep. Patrick McHenry has vowed to prioritize “‘vigorous oversight’” of financial regulators as House Financial Services Chair and has proudly claimed to fight “regulatory constraints” as a member of Congress.

McHenry most notably worked for the “swift implementation” of Trump’s anti-consumer protection legislation, which was slammed as eroding post-financial crisis reforms enacted in the Dodd-Frank Act. As new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, McHenry stacked the majority committee staff with several financial industry insiders including former lobbyists for the American Bankers Association and JPMorgan Chase, as well as individuals with past histories of representing the industry at major corporate law firms.

Rep. McHenry is a member of the real estate industry, having reported owning mortgages on at least three properties generating up to $45,000 in annual income.

In August 2021, Rep. Patrick McHenry praised the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the federal eviction moratorium despite it helping millions of families avoid homelessness during some of the worst periods of the pandemic.

Unsurprisingly, Rep. McHenry has received over $1.2 million from the real estate industry over his career, as well as over $1 million from the Votesane PAC, a PAC run by lobbyists serving as a cover for industry contributions.