Meet the Gen-Z GOP political consultant helping lead the Texas comptroller’s office

As Don Huffines settled into his new post this summer as the new Texas comptroller overseeing the state’s finances, he arranged meetings to introduce himself to top level staff and to get to know their work. Often, he was accompanied by his second-in-command.

Call him “Mr. Betz,” Huffines instructed in one such meeting, referring to his fresh-faced top deputy.

Mr. Betz is Noah Betz, a Gen-Z political wunderkind who graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in business administration in 2023 and is now holding the second-most powerful position at the state agency with 3,000 employees. Betz did not disclose his age. Public records suggest he is either 24 or 25 years old.

Betz’s appointment as chief clerk — commonly referred to as deputy comptroller — comes as dozens have left or been pushed out, representing the loss of hundreds of years of institutional knowledge and experience at the agency, in what five former employees described as a chaotic start to Huffines’ temporary tenure. Those workers spoke on the condition of anonymity, out of fear they could be reprimanded by their new employers or that speaking publicly can affect their job prospects.

Betz is earning $306,000 a year, according to records — double the salary of previous acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, who left the job at the end of July. That puts him in the top 1% of salaries for government employees. (Huffines says he’s not accepting a government salary.)

Most of Betz’s experience in the three years since graduating has been in consulting for hardline conservative politicians — including Huffines’ current campaign for a full four-year term — and leading Huffines’ real estate and development firm, according to a review of Betz’s hiring paperwork, LinkedIn profile, and previous news coverage that featured his work.

Betz declined to be interviewed for this story.

“Comptroller Huffines is a successful businessman who certainly knows how to run an organization and staff a talented team. He doesn’t need hiring advice from liberal activists,” Jeff Norwood, associate deputy comptroller of external affairs, said in response to a list of detailed questions. “Comptroller Huffines has appointed a strong and experienced leadership team that has contributed to his immediate efforts to reform the agency with dramatic improvements, all to the benefit of the taxpayer.“

Among those who were fired or who left are several top level administrators like Lisa Craven, the former deputy comptroller who served in the role for eight years after three decades as a legislative staffer, as well as others who are retiring like Brad Reynolds, who has been the chief revenue estimator for five years and who had been with that division since 2010.

Betz’s assignment is the latest example of how Huffines is overhauling a state agency that is responsible for some of the state’s most important business, like issuing state revenue estimates that establish how much money the Legislature has to draft Texas’ budget every two years. To be sure, Huffines’ leadership team includes members who have decades worth of experience in tax law, fiscal operations, law enforcement and government.

Huffines is set to face Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, an Austin Democrat, in November’s general election, who said she’s worried about the dramatic loss of expertise being pushed out.

“The office is being weaponized,” Eckhardt said. “My concern here is we are seeing the depth of knowledge being routed out of the comptroller’s office.”

On the campaign trail and in some of his earliest remarks as comptroller, the former state senator and Dallas businessman has vowed to upend the status quo — as he has pledged for most of his time as a GOP elected official, building a reputation as a champion of limited government.

“In just 30 business days, we’ve made tremendous progress protecting Texas taxpayers and making this office more efficient by eliminating redundancy and flattening the management structure,” “I’ve spent my career building organizations, and the first rule is simple: You are only as successful as the people you hire,” Huffines said in a press release Monday announcing his leadership teams. “I’ve recruited experienced people who have spent their careers in tax law, state finance, criminal investigations, and government affairs, and they share my commitment to serve the taxpayer with urgency and efficiency — not to serve government bureaucracy.”