A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
[1] He served as prosecuting attorney of Berks County, Pennsylvania from 1856 to 1859.
[3] McKenty was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Schwartz and served from December 3, 1860 to March 3, 1861.
[1] He was not a candidate for reelection in 1860, and resumed the practice of his profession in Reading.
McKenty died in Douglassville on January 3, 1866, and was buried at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Douglasville.