President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to officially designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a move that would significantly expand U.S. counterterrorism powers and reinforce the administration’s hardline stance against Islamist extremism.
According to Just the News, the president confirmed over the weekend that the designation is imminent. “It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms. Final documents are being drawn,” Trump stated.
The designation would place the Muslim Brotherhood alongside groups such as ISIS, Hamas, Boko Haram, and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, all currently listed by the U.S. State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The FTO designation would empower the federal government to freeze the group’s assets, issue travel bans, and pursue criminal penalties for anyone providing material support.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt nearly a century ago, is an Islamist organization with affiliated movements and political parties across the globe. Though it has claimed to operate nonviolently in some regions, its ideological framework has long been linked to violent extremism and terror recruitment. Numerous affiliate groups have played roles in destabilizing key U.S. allies in the Middle East.
President Trump previously considered the designation during his first term, but the effort stalled due to bureaucratic resistance and diplomatic concerns. The renewed push appears to be gaining momentum with support from Republican lawmakers. In June, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. “President Trump was right when he said the Muslim Brotherhood is a threat to global security,” Mace said. “It’s long past time we call them what they are: terrorists.”
In October, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that a British journalist believed to be linked to the Brotherhood was being held by ICE and facing deportation, further highlighting ongoing national security concerns surrounding the organization’s presence in the U.S.
Once finalized, the designation would mark a historic and hardline shift in U.S. foreign policy and counterterrorism strategy—one that aligns squarely with President Trump’s America First doctrine.
