Overview
- NSC counterterrorism lead Sebastian Gorka said the executive order follows legal requirements and is intended to build cases to target additional Muslim Brotherhood chapters.
- The order directs assessments of the Egyptian, Lebanese and Jordanian branches for potential foreign terrorist organization listing and does not itself designate them.
- Gorka described those three chapters as strong test cases, outlined the statutory criteria for FTO listings, and said a next tranche of assessments is in progress.
- At a Senate hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz faulted the House Foreign Affairs Committee for stripping mandatory designation language from the House bill and urged the Senate to advance his full measure.
- Acting State Department counterterrorism coordinator Gregory LoGerfo said concerns about the Brotherhood span decades and called the branch reviews a first step toward broader action.