President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing federal officials to evaluate whether certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters should be designated as terrorist organizations, potentially targeting groups in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
The White House announced the order requires the Secretary of State and the Treasury Secretary to report within 45 days on possible Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations.
The move represents Trump’s latest counterterrorism initiative, following earlier designations of the Houthis and eight drug cartels, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. The administration frames the Muslim Brotherhood as a transnational network threatening U.S. interests and Middle Eastern allies.
According to the White House, Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood military forces helped launch rocket attacks on Israeli targets after the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault. Egyptian Brotherhood leaders allegedly encouraged violence against U.S. partners that same day.
Reports indicate Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood members have provided material support to Hamas’s militant wing. The administration says designations would eliminate these groups’ capabilities and cut off their resources.
Trump’s order requires consultation with the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence before any designations. Officials must determine whether specific chapters meet legal criteria for terrorist classifications under federal statutes.
The administration has pursued aggressive deportation of terrorist gang members while restricting entry from countries with terrorism histories. Trump has also authorized strikes against narcoterrorists to combat drug trafficking.
Any eventual terrorist designations would freeze the groups’ U.S. assets and criminalize supporting them.
The 45-day review period begins immediately, with final determinations expected by early January.
Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a proclamation naming the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations, The Dallas Express reported.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” Abbott said in a news release, adding, “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
The Muslim Legal Fund of America and the CAIR Legal Defense Fund are suing Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleging that the “proclamation is defamatory and finds no basis in law or fact.”
