Young and restless.

• Author: Mildenberg, David

PATRICK MCHENRY'S INFLUENCE IS RISING ON A POWERFUL HOUSE COMMITTEE WITH A BIG ROLE IN REBUILDING THE ECONOMY. BUT BEING IN THE MINORITY IS NO FUN.

Patrick McHenry was elected as the then-youngest member of Congress in 2004 at age 29. Eight terms later, he's 44 and the ranking Republican member of the House Committee on Financial Services. It's one of several party posts that have made him among the more influential representatives from North Carolina in many years. A Gastonia native who now lives in Lincoln County, he is a 1999 graduate of Belmont Abbey College, where, as a junior, he ran unsuccessfully for the N.C. House of Representatives. He held political jobs for three years in Washington, D.C., before returning to his home state, where he won a legislative race in 2002 and then his congressional seat two years later. His wife, Giulia, heads the Office of Economics and Analytics at the Federal Communications Commission. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.

He talked with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA in early May.

* WHAT HAS PROMPTED YOUR ABILITY TO CAIN CLOUT IN CONGRESS?

I didn't start off as a wise legislator, but I've worked hard at getting better and being more responsive and focusing more deeply on what I'm about and how I can act and operate. It's been quite a blessing to have the opportunity to represent North Carolina. I'm grateful that with enough time and trying to make fewer mistakes, I've been able to get in a position of leadership that is constructive for better outcomes.

* HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONGRESS, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE?

In a fairly broken Congress in which fairly little has gotten through the legislative logjam, what has happened in the last two months is almost unprecedented in history. We've moved rather quickly, and even with our partisan divide, we've come to terms on some complex areas of policy. I think that has benefited the American people and made this really awful time less awful.

I would give the Fed high marks in their decisive action. I credit Chairman Powell with their early and bold moves in trying to ensure that a health and economic crisis does not become a financial crisis.

Over the next five to 10 years, we're going to have to figure out how to rein in these programs. At the moment, this is what we are facing. If the Fed is the fire department, they are using the full capacity to put out the flames. They can figure out how to...