U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, cautioned his party not to nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I tell people on my side of the aisle on this primary is: \u2018Look, we could nominate a candidate where we could lose this Senate seat,\u2019\u201d said McCaul, who has endorsed and fundraised for Cornyn.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the inaugural KUT Festival<\/a> in Austin, McCaul said he\u2019d vote for Paxton if the attorney general wins his GOP primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn. But other Texas Republicans he\u2019s polled may not.<\/p>\n \u201cPaxton has way too much liability, too much baggage. John Cornyn is a man of integrity,\u201d McCaul said. \u201cI think there\u2019s more for the Democrats to hit on, far more than John.\u201d<\/p>\n Paxton underwent an impeachment<\/a> trial in 2023. He was acquitted of allegations of corruption and bribery. Paxton has also sought to keep records related to his divorce from state Sen. Angela Paxton sealed from the public<\/a>.<\/p>\n McCaul, 64, is in his last term in Congress<\/a> after serving in the House of Representatives since 2005. He chaired both the House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees during that time. He told the audience that he is unlikely to run for office again.<\/p>\n Speaking to former Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith, now director of events at The Atlantic, in a crowded brewery over the live sounds of local band J\u2019cuuzi, McCaul appreciated how the scene was unique to his district.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is classic Austin, we got a concert and a yard sale going on between this conversation,\u201d McCaul said at Central Machine Works.<\/p>\n McCaul chalked up his departure from Congress in part to \u201cknowing when to let go of power,\u201d but also to what he sees as a political environment that\u2019s increasingly hostile to bipartisanship.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not in style or vogue to work across the aisle to get good things done for the country,\u201d McCaul said.<\/p>\n Political violence and Iran<\/p>\n Smith asked McCaul about the rise in political violence, citing the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker<\/a> last year, the 2022 attack of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s husband, Paul Pelosi<\/a>, and the recent shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner,<\/a> which McCaul attended.<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts at the top,\u201d Smith said. \u201cDo we have someone at the top who understands the consequences of the messaging that may very well give a permission structure to political violence?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can only hope that after three assassination attempts now on his life that he would understand that,\u201d said McCaul, referencing President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Smith also asked why the House of Representatives has not been a \u201ccheck\u201d on the president regarding the war in Iran. McCaul responded that Congress is in an awkward position to take action at the moment because of the conflict\u2019s current ceasefire.<\/p>\n Smith noted that when Democrats in the House pushed a war powers resolution, McCaul did not support it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were entering into a ceasefire, and I think that would be very disruptive to our negotiations with Iran,\u201d McCaul said.<\/p>\n McCaul said he\u2019d prefer for any president to seek congressional approval before starting a war.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s better for the president to ask Congress for the authority so people are saying, \u2018Yes, we support this.\u2019 That\u2019s always a better strategy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n McCaul said he supported military action to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. But he warned that any plan would require a clear exit strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important that we have a game plan to get out. I don\u2019t think it would be wise to put troops on the ground,\u201d McCaul said.<\/p>\n Smith also questioned McCaul on the president\u2019s push for state legislatures to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans.<\/p>\n Texas was the first state legislature to redraw its maps, but others \u2013 controlled by both Democrats and Republicans \u2013 have followed. McCaul said he would not have pursued mid-decade redistricting.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen all is said and done right now, it\u2019s a wash, or maybe a net gain of one Republican seat,\u201d McCaul said, noting that the redistricting will likely push out members of Congress \u201cwho want to get something done for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Rep. 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