Texas GOP rep, staunch Israel supporter to retire

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who has met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel twice in the last four months, won’t seek re-election next year.

“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,” he stated. “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.”

McCaul, 63, said he looks forward to “continuing to serve my country in the national security and foreign policy realm.”

McCaul dined with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, in Israel on Aug. 4 and was part of a bipartisan congressional delegation that met with the Israeli premier in May.

He has sponsored or co-sponsored many laws that support Israel, combat terror and protect American Jews. He said five weeks after the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when he led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the Jewish state, that “Israel’s fight is truly a battle between barbarism and civilization, and civilization must win.”

AIPAC lists the congressman as a pro-Israel lawmaker. “Congressman McCaul has announced his retirement from Congress at the end of the 2026 cycle,” the group stated. “We thank Congressman McCaul for his ongoing championship and support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

In an interview with ABC News that aired on Sept. 14, McCaul was asked about Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha.

“I get the—you know, wanting to take out Hamas. By the way, they missed all the targets. They didn’t hit the Hamas leadership. I understand all that,” McCaul said. “Qatar has one of our largest air bases, our CENTCOM hub is run out of Qatar. We asked them to negotiate these negotiations with Hamas, and then they shot across the bow.”

“As the president said, it—this does not serve the interest of the United States or Israel well in the long term. And what do I mean by that? I think normalization is where we want to be at the end of the day,” he said.

“The more we inflame the Arab world, the less likely the normalization process. What do I mean by that? I mean, peace with Israel, Abraham Accords,” he added.