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U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, R-Austin, the chair of the highly effective Home Overseas Affairs Committee, was briefly detained at Dulles Worldwide Airport exterior Washington, D.C. on Nov. 4, in an incident he known as “the result of a poor decision” to combine Ambien and alcohol.
McCaul, who was on his means dwelling to Texas, was charged with being drunk in public round 9 p.m. on Nov. 4 and launched shortly after, in line with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
A nervous flier, McCaul had taken Ambien to assist him sleep on his flight, his spokesperson mentioned, confirming a report by Semafor.
Mixing the treatment with alcohol made him dazed and disoriented, main him to overlook his flight and lock himself out of his telephone, in line with his spokesperson. Airport law enforcement officials then detained him, assuming he was intoxicated.
He was launched shortly after being detained when a member of the family picked him up.
“Two weekends in the past, I made a mistake — one for which I take full accountability,” McCaul mentioned in a press release. “I missed a flight to Texas and found myself disoriented in the airport. This was the result of a poor decision I made to mix an Ambien — which I took in order to sleep on the upcoming flight — with some alcohol.”
“I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the officers who intercepted me that evening,” he mentioned. “This incident does not reflect who I am and who I strive to be. As a human, I am not perfect. But I am determined to learn from this mistake and, God willing, make myself a better person.”
McCaul is term-limited in his coveted place atop the Home Overseas Affairs Committee, for which he frequently travels to fulfill with world leaders. He has mentioned he’ll search particular permission from GOP leaders to proceed serving because the committee’s prime Republican past his six-year time period restrict subsequent yr, when the brand new Congress begins.
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As chairman of the committee, McCaul was instrumental in pushing a contemporary infusion of help to Ukraine over the end line this yr, within the face of fierce opposition from the get together’s proper wing and President-elect Donald Trump. He additionally has been a vocal China hawk, main the trouble to pressure the sale of TikTok to an American firm.
If allowed to retain his committee gavel, McCaul pledged to proceed supporting key US allies across the globe and protecting strain on adversaries like Russia and China — at the same time as a second Trump administration ushers in a redefined, isolationist view of overseas coverage.
He is likely one of the most seasoned members of the Texas delegation, having additionally served as the highest Republican on the Homeland Safety Committee from 2013 to 2019.
