Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked the Trump administration to investigate and suspend the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) tax-exempt status, citing what he describes as the group’s ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Abbott pointed to federal investigations and court records that he says characterize CAIR as linked to those organizations. CAIR has rejected the allegations and is suing Abbott over a recent state proclamation that labels the group a terrorist organization under Texas law.
On Tuesday, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting that the Treasury Department investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and suspend its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
According to a press release from Abbott’s office, the governor’s letter asserts that “federal investigators and court filings identify CAIR as a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood and as a ‘front group’ for Hamas in the United States,” referring to Hamas as a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Abbott argues that such alleged ties should trigger federal scrutiny of CAIR’s nonprofit status.
In the letter, Abbott wrote that Americans “have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” but warned that “charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy,” according to the text released by his office.
Abbott’s request comes shortly after he issued a November 18 proclamation designating both the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations” under Texas law. The proclamation, filed with the Texas Secretary of State, prohibits CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates from purchasing or acquiring land in the state and authorizes heightened enforcement actions under the Texas Penal Code and Property Code.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” Abbott said in announcing the designation. “The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable. Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
Federal authorities, however, have not designated CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, a power that under U.S. law rests with the secretary of state. CAIR, a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, is not listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Abbott and his allies have cited past federal cases involving Hamas financing to bolster their claims, including the Holy Land Foundation prosecution in Texas, in which CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator but was not charged. The governor’s proclamation also references language it attributes to the FBI describing CAIR as a “front group” for Hamas and its U.S. support network.
CAIR has sharply rejected Abbott’s characterizations and legal moves. The organization has joined with the Muslim Legal Fund of America in a federal lawsuit challenging the Texas designations, arguing that the governor’s actions are unconstitutional, defamatory and fuel anti-Muslim sentiment. In public statements, CAIR says it “consistently condemns all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism,” and describes Abbott’s proclamation as a politically motivated “publicity stunt” that has “no basis in fact or law.”
The dispute over CAIR’s status in Texas is unfolding alongside broader actions by the Trump administration regarding immigration and national security, including Treasury initiatives led by Bessent to restrict certain federal tax benefits for people in the country illegally. Abbott’s appeal to the Treasury Department positions his state-level campaign against CAIR within that wider federal agenda, even as his terrorism designations for the group remain solely operative under Texas law.
