Punchbowl News founders Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman interviewed House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) on Tuesday, March 28 at 9 a.m. ET about news of the day and his priorities as chair of the financial services panel. The conversation was the first in a three-part series sponsored by Apollo Global Management. Apollo CEO Marc Rowan joined Anna and Jake afterward for a fireside chat.
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Anna has covered congressional leadership, the lobbying industry, presidential campaigns and the politics of governing for more than 15 years. She has been writing partners with Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman and co-founder John Bresnahan for 10 years.
In 2019, Anna and Jake authored “The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the future of Trump’s America,” which was the inside story of Congress in the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. The book was an instant New York Times and national bestseller. Trevor Noah of The Daily Show said “The Hill to Die On” turned “Congress into a Game of Thrones book.”
From 2016 to 2020, she was the co-author, along with Jake, of the top-rated POLITICO Playbook franchise, where they chronicled President Donald Trump’s first term, and his relationship with top Congressional leaders. Under their leadership, the platform more than doubled in revenue and tripled its readership. They also created a widely acclaimed daily podcast, afternoon newsletter and event series where they interviewed top political and business leaders across the country about pressing issues of the day. She has spoken and moderated conversations at the World Economic Forum, the Milken Institute Global Forum, UN General Assembly, Aspen Ideas Festival, Texas Tribune Festival and SXSW.
Anna, a native of North Dakota, joined POLITICO in 2011, and was its senior Washington correspondent. She also led Women Rule, a nation-leading platform aimed at expanding leadership opportunities for women and hosted the critically-acclaimed Women Rule podcast. She has also worked at Legal Times and Roll Call, breaking national stories on the business of Washington. She’s a frequent political commentator on CNN, Fox News, NBC and MSNBC. She graduated from St. Olaf College.
Jake has been covering national politics for more than a decade, and has focused his reporting on Congress, the congressional leadership and the politics of legislating. He chronicled all of the major legislative battles of the Obama and Trump presidencies, and has traveled the country and the world, reporting on power and politics.
Jake and Anna Palmer are the co-authors of “The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America,” which was a New York Times and national bestseller in 2019. He has been reporting and writing partners with Anna and Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan for 11 years.
Jake is a contributor to NBC News, and appears almost daily across all of the network’s platforms. He’s a graduate of the George Washington University and Columbia Journalism School. He lives in Washington with his wife and three children and is an avid runner, and listener of the Grateful Dead and Phish.
Congressman Patrick McHenry is serving his tenth term as the representative for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District which comprises all or parts of nine counties in North Carolina, from the suburbs of Charlotte on Lake Norman to Pisgah National Forest in Burke County.
In the 118th Congress, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a committee he has served on since he was elected to Congress. As Chairman, he will continue advocating for innovative solutions that increase access to banking services and credit for American families and small businesses.
Prior to serving as the Chairman, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Republican Leader at the beginning of the 116th Congress. He also served as Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a position he was appointed to at the beginning of the 114th Congress by then Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05).
In 2015, Congressman McHenry was selected by then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01) to be the Chief Deputy Whip. As Chief Deputy Whip, Congressman McHenry directly assisted Majority Whip Scalise by building consensus for the conservative policy agenda of the House Republican Conference. One of his proudest accomplishments as Chief Deputy Whip was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which helped to fix our nation’s broken tax code and provided much-needed tax relief to American families and businesses.
During the 113th Congress, Congressman McHenry served as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In this role, he provided oversight of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal financial regulators. Congressman McHenry was previously a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In addition to his leadership roles on the Financial Services Committee, Congressman McHenry has successfully passed important legislation into law that helps entrepreneurs and startup investing. In the 114th Congress, Congressman McHenry authored the “RAISE Act” (Reforming Access for Investments in Startup Enterprises), which was signed into law by President Obama, providing the means for startup employees to sell their stock options to private investors.
Additionally, Congressman McHenry authored the primary legislation to legalize equity-based crowdfunding in the United States. The crowdfunding language he first authored in 2011 was eventually included in the JOBS Act which President Obama signed into law in April 2012. In recognition of his work supporting crowdfunding, Congressman McHenry was presented with the 2013 “Crowdfunding Visionary Award” by the Global Crowdfunding Convention. Congressman McHenry was also awarded the Crowdfunding Leadership Award by the University of California at Berkeley Fung Institute’s Program for Innovation in Entrepreneurial Finance in 2013.
Congressman McHenry’s interest in crowdfunding and capital formation more broadly developed as a child, when his father attempted to grow a small business but struggled for financing. It was this experience—and the lack of small business financing in rural western North Carolina—that drove Congressman McHenry to become a leader on crowdfunding, capital formation, and other forms of disruptive finance. Recently this has expanded to encompass fintech as he works with industry leaders to discover innovative ways to combine finance and technology with the goal of expanding access to capital for America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Prior to being elected to Congress in 2004 at the age of 29, Congressman McHenry represented the 109th District in the North Carolina House of Representatives. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, a post he was appointed to by President George W. Bush.
Congressman McHenry is a graduate of Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, N.C. and Belmont Abbey College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. Congressman McHenry and his wife Giulia live in Denver, N.C. and worship at Holy Spirit Church. They are the parents of two daughters, Cecelia Rose and Therese Anne (who goes by Rese), and a son, Perry.
Marc Rowan is a Co-Founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Apollo Global Management, Inc., Athene Holding Ltd. and Athora Holding Ltd. Currently, Marc is Chair of the Board of Advisors of The Wharton School and a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees. In addition, he is involved in public policy and is an initial funder and contributor to the development of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research initiative which provides analysis of public policy’s fiscal impact.
An active philanthropist, Marc is a founding member and Chair of Youth Renewal Fund and Vice Chair of Darca, Israel’s top educational network operating 40 schools with over 22,000 students throughout Israel’s most diverse and under-served communities. He also serves on the board of OpenDor Media, a digital media company centered on engaging Jewish and Israel content. Marc is an Executive Committee member of the Civil Society Fellowship, a partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute, designed to empower the next generation of community leaders and problem solvers from across the political spectrum. He also serves on the boards of, inter alia, several technology-oriented venture companies.
Marc graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a BS and an MBA in Finance.