For U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, national security can’t be a partisan fight

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, is the new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via REUTERS)

WASHINGTON — As other Texas Republicans in the U.S. House drafted their attacks and responses to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union this week, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul had his mind on a balloon.

The Austin Republican, speaking in an interview with The Texas Tribune hours before the presidential address Tuesday, described how he was trying to get Democrats on board with a resolution condemning Chinese espionage. Republicans had spent days attacking the Biden administration, which took days to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that managed to traverse the continental United States.