Rep. Michael McCaul Says He Plans to Retire and Take a Job in National Security

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul announced his retirement from Congress Sunday during an interview on ABC’s This Week, telling host Martha Raddatz that he will not seek reelection in 2026.

McCaul, an 11-term Republican who has chaired both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, added that he plans to seek a new job in his area of expertise.

“I’m looking for a new challenge in the same space, that would be national security and foreign policy, but just in a different realm,” the 63-year-old said. “I want to continue serving the people of this country.”

He is just the latest Republican to announce retirement plans this year — following fellow Texas Rep. Morgan Luttrell and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

McCaul, who won reelection in 2024 with more than 60% of the vote, represents a deep red district in Texas that was recently redrawn as part of Texas’ rare mid-decade redistricting push to be more safely Republican.

In his interview Sunday, McCaul reflected on the way the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks pushed him into a life of public service, first as a federal counterterrorism prosecutor and then as a congressman.

He left a mark on Washington as an early advocate for cybersecurity, as a key voice of support for U.S. support in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022, and as an antagonist toward China, which personally sanctioned him in 2023 after a visit to Taiwan. The country’s ruling Communist Party alleged that McCaul had interfered in the country’s “internal affairs.”

“Being sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party is a badge of honor,” McCaul said at the time. “Nothing will deter the United States from supporting free, democratic nations — including Taiwan.”