- The Washington Times - Friday, May 17, 2019

Rep. Patrick McHenry blasted House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters for the way she handled a Thursday hearing with bank regulators.

Ms. Waters ended a hearing despite Mr. McHenry, the ranking Republican, asking for more time to ask the regulators questions. 

“If a mistake was made and you were not notified we will deal with that later,” she said, before gaveling out the hearing.

“This is a travesty, the way you’ve handled this,” Mr. McHenry said.

In a later interview with the Washington Examiner, Mr. McHenry said Ms. Waters “eroded” Republicans’ capacity to address serious issues.

“Look, you have to follow our rules and have some level of common courtesy and decency in these hearings. The unfortunate thing is, while I’ve had a good working relationship with Chairwoman Waters, I think she’s been given horrible advice as it pertains to the law and parliamentary procedure,” the North Carolina Republican said.

“That has eroded my capacity and my members’ capacity to have an open hand, an extended hand, when it comes to serious issues,” he said.

When asked if the hearing set the tone for the committee, Mr. McHenry said, “I hope not.”

“Something has to change on how they’re treating us. This is a culmination of a number of issues, some public, in the last two or three weeks,” he said.

Ms. Waters, a California Democrat, said via a spokesman: “I am committed to continuing to provide productive leadership, and I and my experienced and committed staff will continue to work with Mr. McHenry and his staff. None of us have time for squabbling. The issues we are dealing with are much too important to be diverted into distraction and finger-pointing.”

This is not the first time Ms. Waters has gotten into heated interactions during committee hearings.

The chairwoman clashed with Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin about when he would be allowed to leave a hearing and attend a meeting with representatives of another nation.

• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.

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