Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), one of the most influential Republican voices on foreign policy and national security, has announced that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. The 63-year-old congressman revealed his decision during an interview with ABC News on Sunday.
McCaul has represented Texas’s 10th Congressional District—stretching from the Houston suburbs to Austin—since 2005. Over the course of his two-decade career, he chaired the House Homeland Security Committee (2013–2019) and later the House Foreign Affairs Committee (2023–2024), cementing his reputation as a leading figure on global security issues.
“It’s been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress,” McCaul told Martha Raddatz on ABC News’s This Week. “I’m looking now for a new challenge. I’m going to serve the remainder of my term. But I’m looking for a new challenge in the same space that would be national security, foreign policy, but just in a different realm.”
Elected in 2004, McCaul went on to win reelection 10 times. His toughest race came in 2018, when he narrowly defeated Democrat Mike Siegel with 51.1% of the vote to Siegel’s 46.8%.
During his congressional tenure, McCaul played a central role in addressing some of the most pressing global crises. In his ABC interview, he highlighted the rise of ISIS, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, and “the threat from Chairman Xi [Jinping] and China in the Indo-Pacific.”
His leadership on homeland security and foreign affairs made him a trusted Republican voice on defense policy, cybersecurity, and U.S. diplomatic strategy.
While McCaul did not specify his future career plans, he confirmed his next chapter will remain tied to national security and foreign policy.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of central Texas and to chair the prestigious Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees,” McCaul wrote on social media. “My father’s service in World War II inspired me to pursue a life of public service, with a focus on defending our great nation against global threats, and I have been proud to carry out that mission in Congress for more than two decades.”
His decision not to run again marks a major shift for Texas politics and the Republican Party, as his departure will open up a competitive seat in a fast-growing region of the state.
