President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday initiating a formal review process to potentially designate select Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, citing their alleged support for Hamas following the October 2023 attacks on Israel.
The directive orders Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to conduct a thirty-day assessment in consultation with the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence to determine whether specific Muslim Brotherhood chapters warrant designation under federal law. Within forty-five days of submitting their report, the Secretaries must take appropriate action regarding formal terrorist organization classification, which would authorize asset freezes, enhanced intelligence gathering, and criminal prosecution of anyone providing material support.
"President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood's transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East."
The White House justified the order by alleging that the military wing of the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood chapter joined Hamas and Hezbollah in launching rocket attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets after October 7, 2023. Officials claimed a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader called for violent attacks against American partners and interests on that same date, while Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood leaders have long provided material support to Hamas's militant operations. The executive order focuses on individual country chapters rather than designating the entire organization.
Senator Ted Cruz, who has introduced versions of Muslim Brotherhood designation legislation since 2015, applauded the president's action as critical to American national security. Cruz emphasized that the battle faced fierce resistance from Muslim Brotherhood supporters abroad and deeply embedded bureaucrats within the government. He called for expeditious Senate advancement of his Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025, which has ten cosponsors and aims to lock in designations while providing additional protective resources.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has developed into a transnational network with chapters across the Middle East. Several nations including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Russia, United Arab Emirates, and Austria have already designated the organization as terrorist. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently declared the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization under state law, also targeting the Council on American-Islamic Relations in a move that organization is challenging in court.
Critics warn the designation could threaten civil liberties and strain diplomatic relations. The Council on American-Islamic Relations expressed confidence that American Muslim organizations remain solid and hoped relief organizations serving millions abroad would not face operational disruptions. Executive Director Nihad Awad noted that anti-Muslim activists have promoted conspiracy theories linking every Muslim organization to the Muslim Brotherhood, concerns amplified by Abbott's parallel state-level designations in Texas.
Trump's order invokes the Immigration and Nationality Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act, legal frameworks that grant presidents authority to designate terrorist organizations threatening national security. The directive arrives one week after Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose government designated the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist in 2014. The review process typically functions as formality, with designations often coming sooner than the forty-five-day deadline. The measure represents Trump's broader counterterrorism strategy focused on confronting organizations he views as destabilizing Middle Eastern allies and threatening American citizens abroad.