Florida Follows Texas, Brands Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on December 9 designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as terrorist organizations. In doing so, DeSantis followed closely the approach of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who designated the two organizations on November 18. Their executive orders went further than the one Donald Trump issued on November 24, which set in motion a process to evaluate whether foreign branches of the Muslim Brotherhood are terrorist organizations. Trump’s order did not address U.S.-based groups.

In both Florida and Texas, CAIR’s local chapters responded by announcing lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the orders. Abbott and DeSantis countered with identical retorts that the resulting discovery obligation would be to CAIR’s disadvantage. Abbott followed up his designation by writing to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on December 2 to request that Treasury investigate CAIR and suspend its status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

Federal Legislation Set the Stage for Designations

State-level efforts to target the Brotherhood are not occurring in a vacuum. Following unsuccessful attempts along the same lines in previous years, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a close political ally of Abbott, moved in July to introduce the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025. The House companion to Cruz’s bill was fronted jointly by one Democrat and one Republican, along with 32 other co-sponsors. These twin bills would bar Muslim Brotherhood operations within the United States while directing the secretary of state to determine if each foreign branch of the Brotherhood merits designation as a terrorist group. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the House version of the bill on December 3.

Trump’s November 24 executive order takes a similar branch-by-branch approach to designation.  It singles out three overseas chapters of the Brotherhood — Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese — for State and Treasury to evaluate by December 24, leading to a decision on whether to designate by early February.

The Brotherhood Is a Moving Target

The Muslim Brotherhood is manifestly differently in different countries, creating a challenge for those who would define it as a target for a terror designation. Its brutally violent Palestinian affiliate, Hamas, is already designated by the United States and many other countries as a terrorist organization. Yet across Europe and North America, its networks eschew violence in favor of politics and public relations. But the Brotherhood’s long-term objective, however pursued, remains consistent. The late Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the leading intellectuals of the Muslim Brotherhood in modern times, said this in Qatar in 2007: “Islam will conquer Europe without resorting to the sword or fighting. The conquest will be through da’wah [proselytizing] and ideology.”

The Brotherhood is already proscribed as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Jordan cracked down on the group in April. So far, Austria is the only European country to ban it. Now that the United States has started to move against the Brotherhood, it will certainly affect the debate elsewhere in the West.

Maintaining Focus and Realistic Objectives

Unlike the more sweeping approach of Cruz, Abbott, and DeSantis, Trump’s executive order says nothing of banning the Brotherhood in America; but nor will its impact likely remain confined to just three foreign branches. U.S. agencies will now focus on the Brotherhood and develop information that may sharpen existing concerns and lead to an expansion of what is currently envisaged. The most likely effect would be the designation of additional overseas chapters.

Meanwhile, it will be important to harmonize the approach of Congress with that of the White House. At the same time, Texas and Florida can pursue their own related, if slightly different concerns, and fight the resulting legal battles. Together, these efforts amount to the most serious effort yet by U.S. authorities to address the threat posed by the Brotherhood.

Edmund Fitton-Brown is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Edmund and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Edmund on X @EFittonBrown. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.