Texas DPS director Steve McCraw to retire at the end of 2024

AUSTIN – Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, announced Friday morning that he will retire at the end of the year.

McCraw made the surprise announcement at a DPS trooper trainee graduation ceremony in Austin with Gov. Greg Abbott in attendance.

"It's an easy thing to do because I know Gov. Greg Abbott will ensure my replacement is as good or likely better than I am at this particular job, and we're in great hands because of the people we have, the leaders that we have in this department," McCraw said.

"It has been an honor to work with Director Steve McCraw. He is a leader, visionary, and the quintessential lawman that Texas is so famous for — big, white cowboy hat and all," Abbott said in his remarks at the event.

He has been the director for 15 years, but is perhaps best known for his handling of the aftermath of the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.

Immediately after the shooting, McCraw and other officials praised responding law enforcement officers for their response. In the days that followed, however, more information about the response showed that officers, including 13 DPS troopers , waited for more than an hour to confront the gunman.

Later that year, McCraw rebuffed demands from parents of the victims that he resign. He previously told CNN he would step down if his agency had any culpability.

McCraw began his career with the DPS in 1977, before spending more than 20 years with the FBI. He became the Texas homeland security director in 2004, and took over as DPS director in 2009.