McCaul to Co-Chair Friends of Australia Caucus

WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) - chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - announced he will co-chair the Congressional Friends of Australia Caucus alongside long-time co-chair, Congressman Joe Courtney AO (D-Conn.).

"As the United States' adversaries work together to create an increasingly dangerous world, trusted allies like Australia are as critical as ever. That's why I've worked diligently to strengthen AUKUS - the Australia-U.K.-U.S. alliance that keeps Chairman Xi up at night," said Rep. McCaul. "A strong U.S. relationship with Australia benefits both of our economies, enhances our mutual security, and deters the CCP's malign ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. I look forward to working with Congressman Courtney, who has a proven commitment to the U.S.-Australia alliance, to continue bolstering the caucus' work at this important time in history."

"I am very excited to work with Congressman McCaul, who demonstrated his active support for the U.S.-Australia alliance in 2023 by partnering to enact historic bipartisan AUKUS authorities," said Rep. Courtney AO. "As Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he guided committee approval of key ITAR provisions that were incorporated into the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The bipartisan Friends of Australia Caucus has more work to do to build on that success, and I look forward to working with Michael to achieve this goal."

Background:

The Congressional Friends of Australia Caucus seeks to expand and enrich the partnership between the United States and Australia, which enjoy strong economic and defense ties. McCaul has long supported the relationship between the U.S. and Australia, acknowledging that Australia is one of our most important strategic allies in the Indo-Pacific.

Last Congress, McCaul championed several pieces of legislationto strengthen the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) defense pact. He also penned a recent op-edin the National Review on the critical importance of AUKUS.

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