For US Rep. Michael McCall, national security cannot be a guerrilla struggle.

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WASHINGTON. As other Texas Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives prepared their attacks and responses to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this week, Rep. Michael McCall thought about the hot air balloon.

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

But McCall insisted that the resolution represent the country, not the party.

He and like-minded Republican leaders met with Democrats to try to craft a resolution that would not offend their support for the president, but would also satisfy even his most partisan Republican colleagues. The final resolution condemned the Chinese government’s attempts to infiltrate the US and pushed the administration to keep Congress informed of China’s spying efforts. On Thursday, the resolution was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives, a rarity in Washington.

McCall is not a centrist. He is a vocal critic of President Joe Biden and does not deviate from the party line. He joins his fellow conservatives in protesting the administration’s border policies and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. But reaching across the aisle symbolizes his leadership approach in his new role as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

McCall is deeply convinced that “politics must stop at the water’s edge” – a proverb that suggests that the US should put aside partisan divisions at home and show unity in the fight against external threats. This, he said, is crucial to showcase the strength of the country.

“We don’t need a partisan resolution that looks like the United States is divided because China loves it. It’s the worst thing we could do,” McCall said, sitting in a rocking chair in his office, his arm still in a sling after he went weeks without treatment for a bicep injury. “We need to unite.”

The self-proclaimed defense hawk, entering his 10th term, is one of the most influential members of the Texas House delegation. He has secured a new leadership role on the Foreign Affairs Committee at a critical time in US foreign relations as China, Russia and Iran pose a growing threat to the current world order.

He plans to use the committee’s influence and access to convince his party members of the importance of certain bipartisan priorities, such as maintaining financial aid to Ukraine and condemning Chinese espionage.

“I challenge the other side of the aisle. Let’s stand together against this common enemy that we have,” McCall said from the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday. “Our enemies are not each other. Our enemy is foreign countries such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.”

However, the first few weeks of this Congress have made that unity elusive. An active faction of the Republican Party is refuting some of the core values ​​of the conference in favor of populist ideas presented by former President Donald Trump.

The chopping block could be continued financial support for Ukraine, which some on the far right say would be better used to fund border security at home. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, of the Republic of Georgia, who secured more influence in her party in this year’s leadership race, was especially critical of further funding for Ukraine, which has increased under the government’s latest funding package.

“We are ignoring the dangers that are happening on our border and the national security crisis that is happening in our country, while we are fully protecting the border of another country,” Green said at a November press conference.

McCall argues that this division is largely generational. The 61-year-old grew up in the shadow of the Cold War and readily recalls President Ronald Reagan’s position on the Soviet Union. But others, whose political upbringing was largely shaped by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are far more timid to engage in conflicts abroad that could further increase defense spending.

“They fell into this false dichotomy that somehow you can’t defend the border and give weapons to liberate a democracy fighting a tyrannical dictator threatening Europe the likes of which we haven’t seen since Hitler,” McCall said.

McCall has held briefings with dissenting members and hopes his first committee hearings will clarify how Ukraine aid money is being spent to allay any fears of mismanagement. He also plans to hold a hearing on war crimes committed in Ukraine and present images of the violence committed against both combatants and civilians to highlight the human devastation of war. And he plans to visit Ukraine with fellow Texas Republicans on the Foreign Affairs Committee Jake Ellzee, R-Waxahachee, and Keith Self, R-McKinney.

McCall acknowledges that there will be members so deeply rooted in their opposition to helping Ukraine that they will never back down. But he claims they represent a minority in his party and that most members on both sides of the aisle support Ukraine or simply want some sort of assurance that the money is well spent.

He also doesn’t hold back his punches when he feels the administration is acting weakly. He has criticized the administration for not shooting down a spy balloon sooner and plans to take on the role of chairman of a committee investigating the administration’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan in 2021.

McCall said the Taliban’s quick takeover of Kabul and the thousands of US allies remaining in the country only added to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s audacity when he invaded Ukraine last year. And Chinese President Xi Jinping is keeping a close eye on whether Congress will stop supporting Ukraine’s military action, a decision that could give Xi the audacity to launch his own invasion of Taiwan.

“You have these two dictators trying to reclaim the glory of the old Soviet empire and the glory of imperial China,” McCall said.

He is also a vocal critic of the administration’s handling of the border, having signed off on the Texas Border Plan, which has become the guiding backbone of Republican border policy in the House of Representatives. The plan is based on a much more punitive approach to border management, with tougher parameters for asylum seekers and more deterrent measures to curb border crossings. McCall previously chaired the House Homeland Security Committee, which has jurisdiction over border issues, six times.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a successful record with Democrats. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat who is the top Democrat on the committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee, said he worked with McCall on the legislation and hopes he will continue to lead the committee on a bipartisan basis. Castro confirmed that McCall was ready to fight back against some powerful Republicans who wanted the Chinese espionage resolution to be a targeted attack on the president.

But as Republicans increasingly call for more draconian border security plans, Castro said he hopes “the debate about migration and border security will remain in the realm of reality and not be dominated by the most radical voices in the GOP who see every petitioner.” asylum.” as a potential serial killer.

McCall contrasts these two questions. He may remain strongly opposed to the Biden administration’s approach to the border, which he called “a political issue with nothing to do with Ukraine.” He can also work with Democrats to resolve the complex coordination of foreign adversaries in Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran that are testing the US’s willingness to maintain its position at the pinnacle of the post-war world order.

“This is a struggle for a global balance of power,” he said.