In search of fraud, Huffines plans to shift auditors at Texas Comptroller's Office from auditing businesses to government
Don Huffines told CBS News Texas that when he becomes the Texas Comptroller on August 1, he plans to make some changes at the office.
"I'm going to be doing a lot of shifting with my team," said Huffines. "I have over 600 auditors down there, and we're going to be increasing that staff. I'm shifting a lot of my auditors over to auditing government from auditing businesses currently for revenue."
When asked if he will still want to make sure that companies aren't defrauding the state, Huffines said, "Of course. Yes. It's a real delicate balance. It really is. If you owe your tax, we want to make sure you're paying that tax."
Governor Greg Abbott appointed Huffines to the position after the current Acting Comptroller, Kelly Hancock, announced he would resign effective July 31st. Huffines became the Republican nominee for the job in November after defeating Hancock and two other candidates in the March primary. Huffines faces Democrat Sarah Eckhardt, a State Senator from Austin, in November.
While campaigning, Huffines has emphasized his desire to root out fraud and waste. Huffines said, "This is a nonpartisan issue to find out where our money is actually going. How is it being spent? Is it being spent correctly?"
He often says he wants to "DOGE Texas", referring to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which was created by an executive order from President Trump last year and run by Elon Musk for several months. The Department shut down operations as scheduled on July 4th. Republicans praised the effort, while Democrats sharply criticized it.
When asked if he believed the state of Texas has done enough to root out fraud, Huffines said, "No, I don't think the state has. There are so many government programs. Most states have said that's the federal job to review the program, to find out if the money is being spent correctly. We're seeing that across the board. That's just not the case. The federal government has not paid attention to how the money is being spent. People have been gaming the system for decades."
Huffines said he is going to investigate federal programs the state administers, along with state agencies and local governments. "To root out fraud, you have to have a real, distinct process involved because it could be a criminal case."
Sarah Eckhardt, the Democratic nominee for the November election, criticized Huffines' plan to shift auditors from looking into businesses to governments.
In an interview with CBS News Texas, she said, "We already have a pretty significant oversight inside Texas state government, and I'm very appreciative of that. We should have robust oversight, and the Comptroller's Office is absolutely part of that. But we cannot expect a comptroller who's been appointed by the governor to actually look at corruption inside state government. He's not going to bite the hand that pats him on the head and tells him he's special."
She said Texans should be concerned about Huffines' idea to DOGE Texas.
"DOGE should leave a bad taste in people's mouths after our experience at the federal level," said Eckhardt. "It did not root out corruption, and it did not reduce cost. It created chaos in the federal government and seriously curtailed the ability of the federal government to actually serve the people of the United States. DOGE-ing state government would do the same, but worse, because I believe we are 45th among all of the states in our investment in actual Texans. So, to further DOGE the state government, making it even less capable of responding to the needs of Texans, I think, should be a concern for everyone."
Huffines said his efforts will serve as a unique opportunity for the Republican Party. "I think we're all aligned. When I talked to the governor, he was very much aligned with me in rooting out fraud, rooting out waste."
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