Who?
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) — Chair, House Financial Services Committee; former acting Speaker of the House of Representatives
Ask a Pol asked:
When can we see a new crypto bill?
Key McHenry:
“It is my hope that we can get movement at the beginning of next year,” said McHenry in December 2023
LISTEN: Laslo & McHenry
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Patrick McHenry
SCENE: Just ahead of the winter holidays in 2023, McHenry is holding court just outside of House Republican’s Cloakroom where a handful of members of the congressional press corps are waiting for quick one on one interviews with the newly former speaker.
Matt Laslo: “Real quick on crypto. Any update?”
McHenry shakes head ‘no.’
ML: “But you were gonna force it into NDAA?”
Patrick McHenry: “Nope. Not a part of it.”
ML: “What’s that?”
PM: “Not a part of it.”
ML: “You saw those reports — you were gonna…”
PM: “Yeah, yeah. All the analysis around NDAA is completely faulty. The Senate wanted the negotiations to be dimed off their menu, and I rejected that concept.”
ML: “Yeah.”
PM: “My hope is that we can have an omni[bus], we have the conversation about policy, which is what we should have had during the NDAA. But they made a huge mistake in how they approached the negotiations. It is my hope that we can get movement at the beginning of next year. I want floor votes, and I wanna get into a four-corners conversation — if we can.”
ML: “When do you think?”
PM: “We’ll see.”
ML: “Spring?”
PM: “We don’t know.”
ML: “’Cause it’s an election year though.”
PM: “No, we’ve got a window into next year. The end-of-year deal-making is now the first quarter of next year.”
ML: “Yeah? So that’s what you’re hoping for? Are you reaching out to leaders to start these conversations? Unless you’re someone like Johnson, so new…”
PM: “We’ve been months into this.”
ML: “Has Johnson been listening?”
PM: “He's got a lot on his plate, but, you know, this is — I reached out to key senators, key members of the House in both parties.”
ML: “But isn’t it the case that if you get to Johnson first right now, then, ooh, you have him? He’s so green.”
McHenry smirks. Turns to restive group of reporters.
ML: “I owe you, Lisa.”
Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. @MattLaslo / @AskaPol_crypto
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