[1] On January 29, 2015, White put up an Israeli flag in her office, and instructed her staff to ask Muslim constituents participating in "Texas Muslim Capitol Day" to "announce publicly allegiance to the United States",[2] causing controversy.
Governor Greg Abbott distanced himself from White's remarks and called for "civil discourse" regarding matters of this kind.
[3] In a follow-up social media post in February, White stated that her remarks had been misrepresented.
White explained that the "genesis" behind her statement was that the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), which "started Muslim Day at the Texas Capitol" is "designated as a terrorist group by the United Arab Emirates.
"[4] PolitiFact quoted a city council leader as stating that CAIR was among the organizations that started the annual Muslim Day.