Abbott Appoints Don Huffines as Texas Comptroller, Elevating 2022 Rival to Key Fiscal Post
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 2
Abbott Appoints Don Huffines as Texas Comptroller, Elevating 2022 Rival to Key Fiscal Post
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 2
Summary
Don Huffines, a former state senator who challenged Greg Abbott from the right in 2022, was appointed Texas comptroller on Thursday after acting comptroller Kelly Hancock said he would step down at month-end.
Abbott cast the move as a fit for the office, but it also advances his effort to close Republican ranks by bringing an immigration hard-liner and longtime conservative critic into a powerful statewide post.
Huffines already won the March Republican primary for comptroller, defeating Hancock despite Abbott's earlier appointment and endorsement of Hancock, and now enters the office ahead of the November election.
The comptroller's job has gained political weight because it oversees Texas public accounts and Abbott's contentious $1 billion private-school voucher program, which is ramping up for its first school year this fall.