President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing officials to consider designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorists. This would impose broad economic and travel sanctions on the group.
The executive order calls for top cabinet officials to submit a report within 30 days on whether or not branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, like those in Lebanon, Egypt, or Jordan, should be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). It did not take immediate action against the chapters.
Once the report is filed, if warranted, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have 45 days to designate the groups.
According to the order, these chapters have engaged in destabilization campaigns that “harm their regions, U.S. citizens, and U.S. interests,” and that members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Lebanese chapter aided Hamas and other regional actors in attacks on Israeli targets after October 7.
In a statement on X, Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, said, “Just moments ago, in the presence of my NSC colleague who helped author the Executive Order, President @realDonaldTrump designated multiple chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the Egyptian branch which is the progenitor of all modern Jihadists, al Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas included.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorists last week. In a statement, Abbott said, “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
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