Texas' incoming Democratic governor has not yet taken the oath of office, but she has already picked the first Abbott-era policy she plans to scrap.
Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa told The Washington Post in an interview that she will remove outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott's designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a terrorist organization. Hinojosa, who defeated Abbott on Nov. 3, will be the state's first Latina governor.
"We have to use public safety measures for public safety," Hinojosa told the Post. She dismissed what she called "nonsense happening with power that should be used for public safety."
That characterization drew sharp criticism from conservatives, who note that the incoming governor of the nation's second-largest state described a terror designation as "nonsense." The Post framed the interview as Hinojosa vowing to "trade GOP culture wars for moderation."
Abbott and Texas Republicans spent the campaign warning voters that Hinojosa was more liberal than she let on. Her pledge on CAIR, RedState argued, suggests those warnings were warranted.
Abbott designated both CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations last November. The order barred both groups from acquiring any real property in Texas.
The governor did not mince words at the time. "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.
He added that the groups' actions "to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable." CAIR, which describes itself as a civil rights organization, sued Abbott over the designation.
Less than a week after Abbott's order, President Trump issued an executive order beginning the process of designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. Three weeks after the Texas order, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his own executive order designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations under Florida law.
If Hinojosa follows through, Florida could be left as the only state with such a designation in place. Her move would also likely render CAIR's lawsuit against Texas moot.
Supporters of the designation point to the Holy Land Foundation case of 2008, the largest terrorism-financing trial in U.S. history. CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in that case, which involved a scheme to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas.
Hinojosa has worked to present herself as a pragmatist. She told the Post that she agrees with President Trump on the need for border security and has pledged to work with his administration on immigration.
President Trump, for his part, referred to her in a Truth Social post this week as "the very liberal new governor of Texas." Her decision to make lifting a terror label one of her first announced priorities is likely to fuel that perception.
For Texas Republicans, the episode offers an early preview of what a Democratic administration in Austin will look like. The CAIR designation, it appears, will be among the first casualties.
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