A public dispute between Ken Paxton and Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock escalated this week, drawing in Greg Abbott and raising new questions about the administration of the state’s school choice program.
At the center of the conflict is the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, known as TEFA, and a recent court order involving several Muslim schools seeking to participate. In a March 24 letter, Hancock criticized Paxton’s legal approach after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order extending the student application deadline to March 31. The order also required the comptroller’s office to provide plaintiff schools with the necessary access to apply.
“The district court did not, however, order any state funds to flow to the plaintiff schools,” Hancock wrote, noting that a broader injunction hearing is scheduled for April 24, 2026.
Hancock’s concerns focused in part on the inclusion of Houston Quran Academy, one of four Muslim schools temporarily allowed to participate in TEFA. He argued that the court had limited information at the time of its ruling, writing that “scant evidence” had been presented and that the court was “not aware that the school has documented ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The controversy touches on prior actions by Abbott, who in November designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as “foreign terrorist” and “transnational criminal” organizations. In his letter, Hancock cited a 1991 memorandum describing the Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term strategic goals in the United States, including efforts to establish institutions such as schools and political organizations.
Hancock also pointed to Houston Quran Academy’s leadership, writing that “one individual the Council specifically identified from the ‘brothers among us’ who would help ‘the process of settlement to be completed’ was ‘brother Hamed al-Ghazali,’” whom he identified as the school’s director and principal.
The acting comptroller further urged Paxton to present additional information to the court, writing, “The court cannot protect against threats it does not know exist.” He also called on the attorney general to take enforcement actions, including potentially revoking the school’s corporate charter and addressing what he described as broader concerns about organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
In addition, Hancock raised concerns about the implementation of Senate Bill 17, a 2025 law restricting property ownership by foreign adversaries and certain designated entities. He wrote that Paxton had not yet taken steps to enforce the law, citing a recent appellate court observation that there had not been “a single step that the Attorney General has taken to enforce SB 17.”
“Texas cannot be asleep at the wheel as radical Islam spreads,” Hancock wrote. “Please use SB 17 to halt these extremist groups from operating in our backyards for good.”
Paxton responded sharply on social media, dismissing Hancock as “an incompetent loser who's an embarrassment to the position of Chief Clerk that he holds” and calling for his removal. “It's time for him to be fired,” Paxton wrote, urging Abbott to replace Hancock with Don Huffines, who won the Republican primary for comptroller earlier this month.
The clash also carries political undertones. Hancock, who is serving in an acting capacity after former Comptroller Glenn Hegar left the office, previously voted to convict Paxton during his impeachment trial, supporting 13 of the 16 articles against him.
Under Article 15 of the Texas Constitution, removing a statewide official would require impeachment proceedings initiated by the House and tried in the Senate.
