Díaz-Balart, Moskowitz Reintroduce the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL-26) and Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23), Co-Chairs of the Friends of Egypt Caucus, reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill that implements a new modernized strategy for designating the global Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a terrorist group.

This bill directs the President and Secretary of State to use their statutory authority to sanction the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

The U.S. has officially listed individual members, branches (including Hamas), and charities of the MB as terrorists, but has not designated the organization as a whole. This bill mandates the Secretary of State to catalog the MB branches designated as terrorist groups and designate additional ones that meet relevant criteria, and mandates the designation of the global MB for its support of those terrorist groups.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization that provides support to localized branches in countries and territories, including designated and undesignated groups conducting terrorism, and poses a direct threat to U.S. national security through radical jihadist attempts to eliminate and destroy America and its allies.

Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart said: “Today, I once again introduced legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. The global Muslim Brotherhood has numerous regional branches, including terrorist organizations such as Hamas, and spreads violence and instability throughout the Middle East. For this reason, it is crucial to U.S. national security interests that we prohibit U.S. dollars from enabling the Muslim Brotherhood’s dangerous activities, and that we ensure Muslim Brotherhood members are blocked from entering the United States. This important legislation gives the Trump Administration the additional authority it needs to protect Americans, and our closest allies, from this insidious threat.” 

Congressman Jared Moskowitz said: “The Muslim Brotherhood has a documented history of promoting terrorism against the United States, our allies, and our society. 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 U.S. government has to have the authority to crack down on the serious threats posed by this group as well. That’s why I’m joining Rep. Diaz-Balart and Sen. Cruz to introduce the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. This bill builds on my call for an investigation into designating the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and it ensures we are taking crucial steps to protect our national security.”

Senator Ted Cruz said: “The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization, and it provides support to Muslim Brotherhood branches that are terrorist organizations. One of those branches is Hamas, which on October 7 committed the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, which included the murder and kidnapping of at least 53 Americans. They are committed to the overthrow and destruction of America and other non-Islamist governments across the world, and pose an acute threat to American national security interests. American allies in the Middle East and Europe have already labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and the United States should do the same, and do so expeditiously.”

The original cosponsors include:

Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL-26), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23), Randy Fine (R-FL-6), Tom Suozzi (D-NY-3), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-3), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5), John H. Rutherford (R-FL-5), Mike Bost (R-IL-12), and Andy Barr (R-KY-6).

The full text of the House bill can be found here.

The Senate Companion bill was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Background

There are broadly three ‘ways’ of designating terrorist groups under U.S. statute and authorities: Congressional designation under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 (ATA), State Dept. designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, and Treasury Dept. designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (EO) 13224. This bill does all three.

• Section 2: Designation of the MB under the ATA. The designation creates a primary embargo, in which Americans are banned from conducting transactions on behalf of the group or providing.
• Section 3: Designation of the global MB and any MB branches found to be conducting terrorism pursuant to FTO and SDGT authorities, implemented through a periodic report.

Countries that have labeled and outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization include Austria, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.