Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on the U.S. Treasury Department to examine the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), escalating a weeks-long clash between the state and the civil rights organization.
In a letter published Tuesday, Abbott asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate what he described as CAIR’s “longstanding ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and its ongoing support for terrorism.” Abbott argued that the federal government must ensure that nonprofit status cannot be used “as a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”
CAIR, which identifies itself as a “nonprofit, grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization,” operates as a 501(c)(3) charity. Organizations under this designation are barred from engaging in political campaign activity. According to IRS guidelines, “all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign,” and violations may result in “denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.”
Abbott’s request to Treasury comes less than a month after he issued a sweeping proclamation labeling both CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations.” The proclamation barred either group from acquiring land in Texas and authorized the state attorney general to pursue legal penalties if they attempted to do so.
CAIR immediately objected to the proclamation, saying in a letter that the “real reason” for Abbott’s action was the group’s “steadfast advocacy for Palestinian rights.” Together with the Muslim Legal Fund of America, CAIR filed a legal challenge shortly afterward.
In its new response to Treasury, CAIR rejected Abbott’s allegations outright, writing that his request “has no basis in fact or law, nothing to do with national security, and everything to do with anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry.”
The exchange underscores an accelerating conflict between state officials and Muslim civil rights groups amid broader national debates over political speech, foreign policy, and the boundaries of nonprofit activity. While Abbott argues that CAIR’s past and present actions warrant federal scrutiny, the organization maintains that the governor is misusing national security rhetoric to justify discriminatory measures.
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