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By Jordan King
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to revoke funding from two major airports over facilities used by Muslim travelers for ritual washing, calling the accommodations “illegal” religious discrimination.
Abbott said Friday that his office was reviewing state grants awarded to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston. He warned that operators found to have violated anti-discrimination requirements could lose existing grants and be denied future funding.
“These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal,” Abbott said. “Both airports are government-owned facilities. The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination.”
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Ablution facilities allow Muslims to perform wudu, a ritual that includes washing the hands, face, arms and feet before prayer. Houston’s airport has offered an ablution room—described as available to people of all faiths—since 2024, while DFW has had a washing station since 2019, according to state outlet the Texas Tribune.
Abbott also sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration, requesting an investigation into the two airports. In a separate letter to airport and city officials, he said organizations found to be engaging in discriminatory practices could face the withdrawal of grant funding and other enforcement measures.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek Saturday, a spokesperson for DFW said, "DFW was in the process of evaluating an internal proposal to add a set of ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, the international terminal. Like all proposed projects, the airport ultimately considers the operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs before approving them."
"While that evaluation was planned, the airport accelerated its review due to elevated public interest this week and has determined not to proceed with the project as it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits," the spokesperson explained.
Newsweek reached out IAH for comment by email Saturday.
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What To Know About the Airport Facilities
DFW’s proposal involved adding two ablution stations—one in a men’s restroom and one in a women’s restroom—on the presecurity side of Terminal D. The 170-square-foot renovation was listed in an updated state regulatory filing at an estimated cost of $115,000.
An earlier version of the filing described the project as privately funded and estimated its cost at $300,000. DFW spokesperson Heath Montgomery told Houston-based outlet Chron that those details were errors made by an outside design firm. He said the work would have been paid for with airport revenue, including money from concessions, parking and airline landing fees, rather than taxpayer funding.
The airport is already operating two ablution stations beside its Terminal D Interfaith Chapel. DFW said when the facilities opened in 2019 that the chapel served “people of all faiths and religious traditions.”
DFW said it accelerated its assessment of the proposed additional stations amid increased public attention and ultimately decided not to proceed because the project would not provide the anticipated operational benefits.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, meanwhile, opened an ablution room and an adjoining prayer room near its Terminal D Interfaith Chapel in February 2024. Houston Airports said the facilities were created in response to passenger requests and are available to passengers and airport employees. It described the prayer space as open to people of all faiths and beliefs.
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