Thomas Jeb Hensarling is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Republican Conference from 2011 to 2013 and House Financial Services Committee from 2013 until 2019. The Los Angeles Times described Hensarling, "a fervent believer in free market ideology" and that he was "a pivotal player in the GOP effort to reduce financial regulation in the Trump Era". The Wall Street Journal called him "a driver of economic policy in the house". Hensarling has close ties to Wall Street, having received campaign donations from every major Wall Street bank as well as various payday lenders.

Texas's 5th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives is in an area that includes a northeast portion of the City of Dallas, Dallas County including Mesquite plus a number of smaller suburban, exurban and rural counties south and east of Dallas, including Anderson, Cherokee, Henderson, Van Zandt, and Kaufman. As of the 2000 census, the 5th district represents 651,620 people.