Michael McCaul
| Michael McCaul | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Lloyd Doggett |
| Chairman of the United States House Committee on Homeland Security | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Peter T. King |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Thomas McCaul January 14, 1962 Dallas, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Linda McCaul |
| Children | Caroline McCaul Jewell McCaul Avery McCaul Lauren McCaul Michael McCaul |
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | Trinity University, St. Mary's University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Michael Thomas McCaul, Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 10th congressional district, serving since 2005. Since the beginning of the 113th Congress, he has been the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from Austin to Houston. He is currently the most wealthy member of Congress.
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Early life, education, and law career[edit]
McCaul grew up in suburban Dallas to a fourth generation Irish Texan family.[citation needed] He graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from San Antonio's Trinity University in 1984 and his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University in 1987. McCaul also attended Harvard University, taking courses in the Kennedy School of Government.[1]
McCaul worked as an attorney and a federal prosecutor before entering politics. He was the Chief of Counterterrorism and National Security for Texas's branch of the US Attorney's office also worked under the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section. McCaul was appointed Deputy Attorney General in 1998 and served in this capacity until 2002.
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
Elections[edit]
He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004. He won a crowded Republican primary in the newly created 10th District. The district was thought to be so heavily Republican that no Democratic candidate even filed, effectively handing the seat to McCaul.
In 2006 he defeated Democratic candidate Ted Ankrum and former Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik with 55% of the vote. McCaul won re-election once again in 2008, against Democratic candidate Larry Joe Doherty and Libertarian candidate Matt Finkel[2] by a 54% to 43% margin.
In 2010, he was re-elected to a fourth term by a wide margin (76.26%) against Democratic candidate Ted Ankrum (22.26%) and Libertarian candidate Jeremiah “JP” Perkins (1.47%).
Controversy[edit]
In August 2011 AlterNet reported that McCaul, along with John Culberson and Ted Poe, was attempting to remove the right of deceased soldiers families to choose which prayers, if any, were to be read at a soldiers funeral.[3][4] The three politicians were said to be attempting to impose Christian ceremonies on the military funerals of everybody who has served in the military, regardless of whether or not the deceased was Christian and with or without the consent of the family of the deceased. The three politicians stated their demands were a response to Veterans Affairs (VA) banning Christian prayers at military funerals, however, VA state this claim is "blatantly false" as VA respects a families "rights to pray however they choose at our national cemeteries".[3][4]
In September 2013, McCaul said that he would trust Russians rather than Americans to account for Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.[5] He did say that the monitoring and destruction of the chemical weapons in Syria would have to be overseen by an international commission of the United Nations, emphasizing that Putin and Russia have superior leverage over Syria to better accomplish the removal of WMD from the Syrian arsenal.
Committee assignments[edit]
- Committee on Ethics
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Committee on Homeland Security
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Caucus memberships[edit]
- Congressional High Tech Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Green Schools Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus
- Sportsmen's Caucus
Personal life[edit]
McCaul is married to Linda Mays McCaul. She is the daughter of Clear Channel Communications chairman Lowry Mays and sister of its CEO Mark Mays. In 2011, Roll Call named McCaul the wealthiest member of the United States Congress, surpassing U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA). His current net worth is estimated at $294 million, which is approximately 300% higher than it was last year ($74 million).[6] In 2004, Roll Call estimated his net worth at just $12 million. His wealth increase was due to large monetary transfers from his wife's family.[7] Michael and Linda live in the West Lake Hills neighborhood of Austin, Texas with their children, daughters Caroline, Jewell, Avery, and Lauren, and a son, Michael.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/222/000086961/
- ^ "State of Texas 2008 General Election Returns". Texas Office of the Secretary of State. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ a b Griffith, Justin (August 5, 2011). "TX Congressmen to force Christian prayer over my dead body.". rockbeyondbelief.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ a b DiBrance, Alex (August 23, 2011). "Texas Legislators and Christian Groups Fight to Insert God Into Vets' Funerals -- Against Families' Wishes". AlterNet. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ "McCaul: Put Russian boots on the ground in Syria."
- ^ "The 50 Richest Members of Congress (2011)". Roll Call. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ http://www.rollcall.com/news/mccaul_leaps_top_50_richest_members_congress-208231-1.html?pos=hftxt
External links[edit]
- Congressman Michael McCaul official U.S. House site
- McCaul for Congress
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography at Ballotpedia
- Biography at NNDB
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Congressional profile at Roll Call
- Fact-checking at PolitiFact.com
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
- Financial investments (personal) at The Washington Post
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
- Voting record at The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
- Profile at SourceWatch
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lloyd Doggett |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th congressional district 2005–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Peter King New York |
Chairman of House Homeland Security Committee 2013–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by Kenny Marchant R-Texas |
United States Representatives by seniority 190th |
Succeeded by Patrick McHenry R-North Carolina |
- 1962 births
- Living people
- John F. Kennedy School of Government alumni
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- People from Dallas, Texas
- Texas lawyers
- Texas Republicans
- Trinity University (Texas) alumni
- American people of Irish descent
- St. Mary's University School of Law alumni
- United States Deputy Attorneys General
