ARCHIVE: Chair Patrick McHenry on crypto bill: "We’ve been months into this"

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 2023LISTEN: Laslo & McHenryBelow find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Patrick McHenrySCENE: 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_cryptoAsk a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe