{"id":225649,"date":"2026-04-02T11:29:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/?p=225649"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:53:00","slug":"texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/04\/02\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge will allow Attorney General Ken Paxton to withdraw from representing comptroller\u2019s office in voucher case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_1Pn5bCMNbra?ui_cover_art=false&amp;ui_title_intro=Listen+to+this+article&amp;ui_title_icon=headphones&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.0.3\" width=\"100%\" height=\"130px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><style>.wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed { margin: 0 !important; }<\/style><div class=\"everlit-disclaimer\" style=\"margin: 0;\"><div style=\"margin-top: -0.5rem;font-size: 0.7rem;color: #4a4a4a;font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\">Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/about\/ethics\/#ai-policy\">AI policy<\/a>, and give us <a href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appFeleeKVUN0Iytx\/pagPG40gbkU0EfjIr\/form\">feedback<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HOUSTON \u2014 A federal judge on Thursday said he will allow Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s office to excuse itself from representing acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock\u2019s office in a lawsuit alleging religious discrimination in the new school voucher program after a dramatic fallout between the two offices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett said he will grant Paxton\u2019s request to withdraw from the case once the comptroller finds a new attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI do not want the comptroller to be unrepresented,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cNot one day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The judge noted that the next hearing for the case is set for April 24, and he wants to avoid any delay.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the comptroller\u2019s office wants to \u201cpick your own lawyers, that\u2019s fine,\u201d the judge said, but there should be a \u201cseamless transition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The attorney general\u2019s office on Thursday said the comptroller\u2019s office is in the process of finding new lawyers. Neither Paxton\u2019s nor Hancock\u2019s offices immediately responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thursday\u2019s hearing comes about a week into the unusually public clash between two of Texas\u2019 top GOP officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The feud was set in motion last week when Hancock fired off a letter to Paxton, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/bradj_TX\/status\/2036616275556721073?s=20\">obtained by Texas Bullpen<\/a>, criticizing the attorney general\u2019s legal strategy in a case centering on whether Islamic schools can receive funds through the state\u2019s $1 billion school voucher program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hancock, whose office manages the program, said Paxton had missed major marks on the case, such as failing to highlight connections between one of the schools, Houston Quran Academy, and the Muslim Brotherhood, a multinational organization with no central figure.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe court cannot protect against threats it does not know exist,\u201d Hancock wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paxton responded to Hancock in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/press\/Letter_11.pdf?utm_content=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;utm_term=\">a letter<\/a> of his own, saying the acting comptroller\u2019s \u201cpetty politics\u201d had \u201csingle-handedly destroyed my ability to defend the Comptroller\u2019s office in these cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paxton contended that Hancock undermined the state\u2019s defense by leaking his letter, which included statements not presented in sworn declarations to the court and ultimately risked attorney-client privilege.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paxton punctuated his point, calling Hancock, a former state senator, an \u201cincompetent loser\u201d and \u201cembarrassment\u201d to the position of the state\u2019s chief financial officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hancock was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June after Glenn Hegar left to become chancellor of the Texas A&amp;M University System.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first clash between Paxton and Hancock. In 2023, Hancock was one of two Republican state senators to vote to impeach Paxton on some of the charges levied by the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attorneys representing the plaintiffs on Thursday said they were grateful for the judge\u2019s decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is the largest school voucher program in the country,\u201d attorney Maha Ghyas told The Texas Tribune. \u201cWe have to ensure that the administration and disbursement of those funds are done in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several Muslim families and Islamic schools sued state leaders over their exclusion from the voucher program, alleging religious discrimination. The two lawsuits, which were recently consolidated, ask the court to require the comptroller to accept all Islamic schools that meet program requirements. It also seeks to prevent the state from delaying or denying schools\u2019 approval based on religious identity or unsubstantiated allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The legal challenge comes against the backdrop of a midterm cycle during which Texas Republicans have ratcheted up their anti-Muslim rhetoric, taking aim at what one GOP candidate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/01\/26\/texas-republicans-sharia-law-anti-muslim-rhetoric\/\">described<\/a> as a \u201ccoordinated political effort to Islamify Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As his own primary was ramping up in December, Hancock <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/12\/22\/texas-school-voucher-exclusions-kelly-hancock\/\">asked<\/a> Paxton to weigh in on whether private schools could be excluded from the voucher program based on ties to a \u201cforeign terrorist organization\u201d or a \u201cforeign adversary.\u201d In requesting the opinion, Hancock suggested that standard could be used to bar schools that had hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group designated by Abbott as a terrorist organization. CAIR has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/11\/18\/greg-abbott-muslim-land-ownership-ban\/\">sued<\/a> Abbott over the label, calling it defamatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paxton followed suit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/01\/24\/texas-school-vouchers-opinion-terrorists-ken-paxton\/\">a legal opinion<\/a> giving Hancock the green light to exclude schools that provide material support for foreign terrorist organizations. But he declined to say whether hosting events for CAIR was an example of such \u201cmaterial support,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/opinion-files\/opinion\/2026\/kp-0509_2.pdf\">writing<\/a> that it was up to the comptroller to vet schools\u2019 eligibility. In a recent court hearing in the religious discrimination lawsuit, lawyers from Paxton\u2019s office said they were unaware of any Islamic schools that had engaged in terrorism or broken state laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather, the comptroller had not accepted the Islamic schools in the lawsuit, state lawyers wrote in court filings, over concerns about the company that accredited them. Soon after, Hancock fired off the missive to Paxton slamming his office\u2019s legal strategy and urging him to \u201chighlight the full details about the terror ties of Houston Quran Academy \u2014 and any such ties for other plaintiff schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The judge decided to extend the school voucher deadline over the dispute. He expressed concern that the state had exclusively blocked all Islamic schools from registering for the program while allowing hundreds of other schools, including those with a religious focus, to participate.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bennett ordered the comptroller to provide the suing campuses an opportunity to register, and Hancock\u2019s office has since accepted all eligible Islamic schools to the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state\u2019s top attorney has routinely declined to represent state agencies. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2023\/09\/21\/texas-ken-paxton-refused-represent-state-agencies\/\">2023 investigation<\/a> by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found Paxton denied requests from state agencies for representation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2023\/09\/05\/ken-paxton-state-agencies\/\">at least 75 times<\/a>. He\u2019s even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/11\/14\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-lawsuit-higher-education-coordinating-board\/\">sued a state agency<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paxton is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/17\/texas-senate-gop-primary-runoff-deadline-remove-name-from-ballot-cornyn-paxton\/\">challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn<\/a>, R-Texas, for a Senate seat; they will face each other in the May 26 runoff election. The Cornyn campaign\u2019s senior advisor called Paxton\u2019s withdrawal from the case a \u201cselfish and indefensible decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKen Paxton refuses to defend the State of Texas,\u201d Matt Mackowiak said. \u201cHe has now withdrawn his defense of the Texas Comptroller\u2019s Office and apparently agrees that Muslim schools should receive taxpayer benefits \u2026 Ken Paxton\u2019s poor judgment, documented mismanagement, and selfishness continue to hurt Texas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Disclosure: Texas A&amp;M University System has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/support-us\/corporate-sponsors\/\">list of them here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><!-- \/wp:post-content --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston federal judge said Paxton\u2019s office can pull out of the case as soon as acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock finds new lawyers. The unusual request comes amid a bubbling feud between the two Republicans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":225527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"everlit_article_id":"artl_1Pn5bCMNbra","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"large","everlit_generation_settings":{"embed_ui_cover_art":false,"embed_ui_title_intro":"Listen to this article","embed_ui_title_icon":"headphones","primary_voice":"281","guest_voice":"281","default_publication":"pblc_PVW312Hm3Ba","default_conversation_mode":false,"podcast_duration_minutes":5,"default_sonic_optimization":false,"optimizer_level":2,"default_read_alt_text":false,"default_read_urls":false,"default_skip_article_image":false,"intro_mixable":339,"outro_mixable":86,"intro_duration":15,"outro_duration":0,"intro_padding":3,"outro_padding":0,"disable_music":false},"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"e92b136cb5042f6261ffc2cc9d4f19d7","_everlit_metadata_hash":"f49f4392ce780ad2d8f5fd0ba4a294e3","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-04-02T16:29:29Z","apple_news_api_id":"6f12c3d0-2ec3-42ee-b138-0562c70a3ab2","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-04-04T01:32:22Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AbxLD0C7DQu6xOAVixwo6sg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"_photon_skip_featured_image":false,"_photon_quality_featured_image":0,"manual_modified_date":"2026-04-02 12:53:00","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":true,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[34,28,23],"tags":[1799,2011,1793,3554,1864],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"tt_series":[],"coauthors":[267,273],"class_list":["post-225649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courts","category-politics","category-state-government","tag-attorney-generals-office","tag-kelly-hancock","tag-ken-paxton","tag-school-vouchers","tag-texas-comptroller-of-public-accounts","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Judge lets Texas AG withdraw from comptroller voucher case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Houston federal judge said Paxton\u2019s office can pull out of the case as soon as the comptroller\u2019s office finds new lawyers. The unusual request comes amid a bubbling feud between Paxton and Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/04\/02\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge lets Texas AG withdraw from comptroller voucher case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Houston federal judge said Paxton\u2019s office can pull out of the case as soon as the comptroller\u2019s office finds new lawyers. The unusual request comes amid a bubbling feud between Paxton and Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/04\/02\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Texas Tribune\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T16:29:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T17:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PSP-Diptych-Headshots4-scaled.jpg?quality=89&w=1200&h=630&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Colleen DeGuzman, Jaden Edison\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@acolleendg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Colleen DeGuzman, Jaden Edison\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Colleen DeGuzman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d9e5bbbcee02c78f28f4c6516553c692\"},\"headline\":\"Judge will allow Attorney General Ken Paxton to withdraw from representing comptroller\u2019s office in voucher case\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T16:29:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-02T17:53:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1091,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/PSP-Diptych-Headshots4-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&quality=89&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Attorney General's Office\",\"Kelly Hancock\",\"Ken Paxton\",\"school vouchers\",\"Texas Comptroller Of Public Accounts\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Courts\",\"Politics\",\"State Government\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/\",\"name\":\"Judge lets Texas AG withdraw from comptroller voucher case\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/texas-attorney-general-paxton-withdraw-voucher-lawsuit-comptroller-hancock\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/PSP-Diptych-Headshots4-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&quality=89&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T16:29:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-02T17:53:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Houston federal judge said Paxton\u2019s office can pull out of the case as soon as the comptroller\u2019s office finds new lawyers. 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