Republican says he returned donations from Signature Bank fundraiser
ORLANDO, Fla. — The new House Financial Services Committee chairman leading an investigation into two of the largest bank failures in history said Monday his political team has returned all donations from a fundraiser with bank executives in Signature Bank’s boardroom just days before it collapsed. And the chairman, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., pushed back against suggestions that he should recuse himself from the high-profile congressional probe, saying he could not be influenced by campaign cash. “When people contribute to me, it’s an endorsement of my agenda — not the other way around," McHenry told reporters in an off-camera news briefing about the banking collapse. "In this circumstance, we had not processed the contributions, and we returned them all." McHenry, who was joined by other GOP committee chairmen and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., addressed questions about the fundraiser the same day he delivered a private presentation to Republican colleagues abou...