US Designation of Muslim Brotherhood as Terror Organization ‘In the Works,’ Marco Rubio Says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States is actively working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, a key ideological backer of Hamas, as a foreign terrorist organization, a step that could bolster US support for Israel’s fight against regional extremist networks.

Speaking on “Sid and Friends in the Morning,” the top US diplomat said the process of labeling a new terrorist group is complex, requiring the careful evaluation of the organization’s various branches to ensure any designation can withstand legal challenges.

“All of that is in the works, and obviously there are different branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, so you’d have to designate each one of them,” Rubio said when asked about desginating the global Islamist network.

Rubio predicted that attempts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization would be met with legal challenges.

“These things are going to be challenged in court,” Rubio said. “Any group can say, ‘Well, I’m not really a terrorist. That organization is not a terrorist organization.’”

“You have to show your work like a math problem when you go before court,” he continued. “All you need is one federal judge — and there are plenty — that are willing to do these nationwide injunctions and basically try to run the country from the bench. So we’ve got to be so careful.”

Rubio’s comments came amid growing bipartisan momentum in the US Congress to designate the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the House, Florida Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D) and Mario Díaz-Balart (R) last month reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which would direct the State Department to classify both the organization and its affiliates as terrorist entities.

“The Muslim Brotherhood has a documented history of promoting terrorism against the United States, our allies, and our society,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “Countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Austria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and France have already taken important steps to investigate and crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates. The US government has to have the authority to crack down on the serious threats posed by this group as well.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has spearheaded an effort in the Senate to designate the Brotherhood.

A terrorist designation would align the US with several key allies, including many in the Middle East. Governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Austria have already banned the Brotherhood. Jordan outlawed the organization in April.

Hamas, the internationally designated terrorist group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades and perpetrated the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust with its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is a Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

However, the US has yet to designate the organization, despite several attempts by Congress over the years. During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, officials in both the White House and Congress took initial steps toward sanctioning the group’s international branches, but a formal designation was never finalized.

US lawmakers believe they have identified multiple pathways to economically cripple the internationally designated terror organization. Congress could combat the Muslim Brotherhood by designating it a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) or placing it on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list. Both options would levy heavy penalties on the group through methods such as freezing its assets or sanctioning its leadership.