WASHINGTON – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, was briefly detained after an interaction with police at Dulles International Airport near Washington, a spokesman for the congressman told NBC News.
A spokesman said McCaul was not arrested and did not threaten anyone, but police approached him because he was intoxicated and in need of help. McCaul was then able to call a family member to pick him up at the airport to take him back to Washington.
A nervous flyer, McCaul took Ambien to help him sleep on the flight back home to Texas and accidentally missed his flight, according to the spokesman.
As he was working to rebook his flight, Ambien, which he had mixed with several alcoholic drinks, made him dizzy and locked himself out of the phone, according to the spokesperson.
This led to his encounter with the police, who at first thought he was just drunk and stopped him. After McCaul explained the situation, police helped her use one of her phones to call a family member who picked her up at the airport. A spokesman said McCaul was respectful of police throughout the encounter.
“I made a mistake two weekends ago – and I take full responsibility for it. I missed a flight to Texas and felt groggy at the airport. It was the result of my bad decision to mix the Ambien I was taking with some alcohol to help me sleep on the upcoming flight. McCaul said in a statement to NBC News.
He added: “I was briefly detained by law enforcement officers while waiting for a family member to pick me up. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the officers who detained me that evening. This incident does not reflect who I am and who I strive to be. I am not perfect as a person. But I am determined to learn from this mistake and hopefully make myself a better person.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McCaul oversees one of the House’s most powerful committees and often travels the world to meet with foreign leaders and dignitaries on behalf of the House Speaker.
Republicans have a policy of term limits for committee chairs and ranking members, and McCaul is set to hit that limit at the end of his current term. In order for him to continue as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he would have to request and receive a waiver from the House Steering Committee, which McCaul plans to request.
McCaul was easily re-elected to his 11th term in the House of Representatives and previously served as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
Members returned to Washington this week after Republicans retook the White House and Senate.
House and Senate is a term used to describe the time between an election and the start of a new administration, when retiring members and those who did not win re-election bids are still serving in Congress.
On Wednesday, House Republicans He met at the Hyatt Regency in Washington holding forums and elections for leadership candidates, although the results of some battleground House races are still unknown.
US President-elect Donald Trump stopped by the Hyatt Hotel to meet with the House Republican Caucus before meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.
In a meeting with House Republicans, the president-elect backed a bid by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for another term in office.