WASHINGTON — Top GOP foreign-policy expert and Texas Rep. Michael McCaul announced over the weekend that he won’t run for reelection — while warning the world could very well be on the brink of World War III.
McCaul, 63, was the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 2019 until the start of 2025, when he had to vacate the position because of the chamber’s term limit on it. The 11-term retiring congressman has been a champion of traditional conservative foreign policy views.
“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 said in a statement Sunday announcing he would not run again n 2026.
“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.”
During an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that dovetailed with his announcement, McCaul then gave his outlook on the state of the world — and it was bleak.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in recent times. And so, what I’m concerned about is that the escalation here and the temperature rising, we got to be very careful not to be on the precipice of a World War III,” he said.
McCaul referenced Russia’s recent deployment of 19 drones into Poland’s airspace last week. President Trump suggested the move may have been a mistake, but the Texas rep dismissed that notion.
“With all deference to the president, I don’t think that was a mistake. I think Putin is testing the resolve of NATO,” the former anti-terrorism prosecutor said.
Since Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine in 2022, McCaul has remained a staunch supporter of Ukraine, drawing the wrath of populists such as pundit Tucker Carlson amid growing isolationist forces in the conservative movement.
On Sunday, he openly cast doubt on Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s sincerity during peace talks with Trump in Alaska last month.
“I never had any good faith anticipation of these negotiations. Putin is a KGB once and always,” McCaul said. “I think he’s manipulating the president, as a KGB officer would.”
He stressed that he’s hopeful that Trump is “waking up to the fact that Putin is not negotiating in good faith.”
The Lone Star State Republican teased that he’s looking toward “a new challenge” after leaving Congress and intends to remain in the foreign policy and national security realm.
Over the weekend, Trump called on NATO allies to embark on a joint effort to ratchet up the sanction pressure on Russia in order to undercut funding for its war machine.
In addition to being a leading GOP voice on foreign policy, McCaul also served as the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee from 2013 to 2019.
For most of his tenure, McCaul waltzed to victory during his 10 re-election bids. His closest race came in the 2018 blue-wave year, when he won by 51.1% of the vote to Democrat Mike Siegel’s 46.8%.
The 2026 midterm election cycle is expected to be a strong year for Democrats, given historical trends of midterm cycles.
McCaul has represented Texas’s 10th District since 2005.
