The Daily Populous Sunday September 14th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by NewSlinger

Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul announced Sunday that he will not seek re-election in 2026.

McCaul, a former chairman of the Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, joins two other House Republicans who announced their retirement from public office this year: McCaul's fellow Texan Rep. Morgan Luttrell and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

McCaul, who was first elected to Congress in 2004 and is serving his 11th term, told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he was “looking for a new challenge.”

“It's been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress,” McCaul said, adding that while he planned to serve the remainder of his term, he wanted to “continue to serve the people in this country in national security and foreign policy and do what I've done the last two decades: make America stronger and the world safer.”

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, appears on ABC News' "This Week" on Sept. 14, 2025. ABC News

McCaul’s district, which represents parts of Austin and spans as far east as the Houston suburbs, leans heavily Republican. He handily won reelection in 2024, defeating his Democratic opponent by nearly 30 points.

Texas Republicans redrew their congressional maps last month in an attempt to capture five new GOP-leaning House seats in next year’s midterms, slightly weakening McCaul’s district. Under the previous map, 61.6% of the district's population voted for President Donald Trump, compared to 60.5% of the population under the newly drawn lines, according to data from the Texas Legislative Council.

McCaul, who currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also reacted to the incursion of Russian drones into NATO ally Poland this week, dismissing Trump’s assertion that the violation of Polish airspace may have been a mistake.

“With all deference to the president, I don't think that was a mistake. I think Putin is testing the resolve of NATO,” McCaul said.

McCaul also criticized Israel’s attempted strikes on Hamas leadership in Qatar last week.

“We asked them to negotiate these negotiations with Hamas,” he said. “And then this shot across the bow, I don't think, you know, as the president said, this does not serve the interests of the United States or Israel well, long term.”

Here are more highlights from McCaul's interview:

He wants to see how NATO reacts, how Poland reacts. The good news is Poland had a great response. They shot them down, but it shows you how aggressive Putin is getting in the region, not only the drones, but these war game exercises with Belarus right on the NATO border, the Baltic states, the nuclear bombers that flew to Poland around close to their airspace, and then these strikes up in the Arctic. He's really putting the pressure on right now.

Raddatz: Do you think President Trump was played, especially at that Alaska summit?

McCaul: I never had any good faith anticipation of these negotiations. Putin is a KGB once and always. And I don't think he's playing fair. I think he's manipulating the president, as a KGB officer would. I think the president, though the good news is, is waking up to the fact that Putin is not negotiating in good faith, not making concessions, and has to be dealt with. And I you know, the more Putin irritates the president, I think, the better we are in terms of defending NATO and Ukraine.

ElPlywood on September 14th, 2025 at 13:17 UTC »

11 terms, I've never heard of him

made such an impact, this old white man ghost

thistimelineisweird on September 14th, 2025 at 13:14 UTC »

"I got mine, fuck you, oh yeah I didn't like Trump this whole time, too!" - former MAGAs who grow a spine after leaving power

Prior_Coyote_4376 on September 14th, 2025 at 13:12 UTC »

Isn’t it crazy how these people can start a fascist movement and just retire to make even more profit on some board of directors