Texas Rep McCaul to retire after current term

Rep. Michael McCaul said Sunday he will not seek reelection in 2026, announcing on ABC's This Week that he will leave Congress at the end of his current term after more than two decades representing Texas' 10th Congressional District, which stretches from the Houston suburbs to the outskirts of Austin. McCaul, first elected in 2004, said he will serve through January 2027 but is ready for "a new challenge" outside the House while remaining focused on national security and foreign policy.

"It has been an honor of a lifetime to represent the people of central Texas," McCaul wrote on social media, adding that his father's World War II service inspired his public service. On ABC, he said he intends to pursue opportunities in the national security and foreign policy arena "in a different realm" but did not specify next steps. He told host Martha Raddatz he plans to complete his current term.

McCaul, 63, is one of the House Republicans most associated with U.S. foreign policy and homeland security matters. He has chaired the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led the China Task Force that later became the House Select Committee on the Chinese...