After more than two decades of selling out conservative voters in Texas, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) is finally packing it in. The career politician, who proudly wore the RINO label whether he admitted it or not, announced his retirement after 11 terms in Congress. For grassroots conservatives, it’s nothing short of a victory.

McCaul’s tenure has long been defined by foreign entanglements, globalist priorities, and clashes with President Trump over America First policies. While Texans expected a fighter for their values, too often they got a Washington insider parroting the same tired “defend NATO at all costs” rhetoric that places the interests of Brussels and Kyiv above the people of Texas.

For this reason, conservatives online were quick to celebrate the announcement. One voter on X, formerly Twitter, wrote bluntly: “This rino slob is quitting, y’all. @RepMcCaul can’t take the heat he’s been getting and apparently he’s smart enough to know what time it is. Good riddance to this anti-American piece of s\*\*t. He’s as bad as a slimy Democrat. Zero difference.”

That sentiment was echoed across conservative circles, where McCaul has long been seen as part of the entrenched D.C. “swamp” that views patriotism as a liability and endless war as a virtue.

Still, McCaul attempted to burnish his legacy with a dramatic farewell speech to ABC News. “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,” he said, before diving into the usual establishment talking points about “global threats” and “defending NATO.”

McCaul even leaned on his father’s service in World War II as justification for his hawkish foreign policy stances. While honoring military service is always right, critics argue McCaul has spent his career dishonoring the America First vision by pushing for interventionism, reckless aid to Ukraine, and blind obedience to NATO — all while ignoring the crises at our southern border.

His parting words were no different. In his interview, McCaul fretted about “the escalation here and the temperature rising,” warning of the “precipice of a World War III.” He used the moment not to call for peace through strength but to take yet another swing at President Trump, whining, “With all deference to the president, I don’t think that was a mistake. I think Putin is testing the resolve of NATO.”

It’s the same tired narrative we’ve heard from the foreign policy establishment for years: Putin the mastermind, Trump the naïve negotiator, and NATO as the sacred cow that must be protected at all costs. Never mind the fact that under President Trump, America saw no new wars and maintained strength abroad precisely because Trump refused to play the globalists’ game.

McCaul, meanwhile, suggested Putin had “manipulated” Trump and went so far as to call the president “naïve.” That kind of language explains why conservatives have long lumped McCaul in with Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney — Republicans in Name Only who delight in undercutting their own party’s leader while pretending to stand for “principle.”

At the end of his self-congratulatory remarks, McCaul mused that he would “look for a new challenge” in foreign policy and national security. Translation: he’s ready to cash in his years of service to the D.C. swamp with a cushy job at a think tank or defense contractor.

But while McCaul looks for his next paycheck, Texas conservatives are already looking ahead. His retirement leaves the door wide open for a true America First candidate — someone who won’t bow to the globalists, won’t side with Democrats against Trump, and won’t forget that their job is to serve the people of Texas, not NATO headquarters.

For the grassroots, McCaul’s departure isn’t the end of an era. It’s the beginning of an opportunity.