Marco Rubio: US Will Label Muslim Brotherhood a Terror Org

The US government is in the process of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on Tuesday.

In response to a question about designating Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as terrorist organizations, Rubio said that "all of those things" that were "just discussed" were "in the process."

"We are constantly reviewing for groups to designate for what they are: supporters of terrorists, maybe terrorists themselves, whatever it may be. We haven’t done this in a long time, so it’s – we’ve got a lot of catch-up to do. And you’ve mentioned a couple names, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, that are of grave concern," Rubio said on Sid and Friends in the Morning according to a US State Department transcript.

While this was "in the works" Rubio noted challenges in the process, such as having to designate each branch of the Muslim brotherhood individually.

Rubio said that before entering into his role as secretary of state, he didn't appreciate the legal and bureaucratic process involved in such matters. Terrorist designations could be challenged in court, and there was an internal procedure for documenting and justifying the decision.

"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," said Rubio. "So we’ve got to be so careful."

Multiple attempts to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization

Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization is not a new proposal among Republican elements, with two bills introduced to implement the idea.

Republican senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, John Boozman, Rick Scott, Ashley Moody, and Dave McCormick on July 16 introduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025 in response to its ties to Hamas.

“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," Cruz explained in a press release.

"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 companion congressional bill was introduced the same day with bipartisan sponsorship by Democrat congresspeople Jared Moskowitz, Tom Suozzi, Josh Gottheimer and Republicans Mario Díaz-Balart, Randy Fine, Chuck Fleischmann, John H. Rutherford, Mike Bost, and Andy Barr

“The Muslim Brotherhood has a documented history of promoting terrorism against the United States, our allies, and our society," Moskowitz said in a July 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."