type: timeline_event
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14362 on November 24, 2025, directing the Secretary of State and Treasury Secretary to evaluate designating specific Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The order, published in the Federal Register as FR Doc. 2025-21664 on November 28, 2025, cites authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702), and Executive Order 13224. The directive mandates that within 30 days, the secretaries must submit a joint report recommending whether to designate chapters, and within 45 days after that report, take formal designation action if appropriate.
Crucially, the order initiates a designation process rather than immediately designating the organizations, distinguishing it from Texas Governor Greg Abbott's unilateral November 18, 2025 proclamation declaring CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organizations. The executive order accuses the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood of joining Hamas and Hezbollah in the October 7, 2023 attacks, the Jordanian chapter of providing material support to Hamas's militant wing, and an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader of calling for violent attacks against U.S. partners following the Gaza conflict.
Civil liberties organizations immediately raised alarm about the order's implications. The Brennan Center for Justice warned that FTO designations trigger sweeping financial sanctions, severe criminal penalties, and extensive FISA surveillance authorities originally conceived for groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. A coalition statement emphasized concerns that the designation could lead to stigmatization of American Muslim civil society, including nonprofits, charities, religious organizations, and activists, with individuals potentially facing criminal prosecution for providing support without any intent to support terrorist activity. The ACLU of Texas, responding to Abbott's parallel state-level action, stated the designation "raises significant First Amendment and due process concerns" and represents "politically motivated attacks on nonprofit organizations led by, and primarily serving, immigrants and communities of color."
The designation process creates dangerous precedent for expanding surveillance powers and potentially criminalizing First Amendment-protected activities. Once designated, anyone deemed an "agent" of the organization becomes eligible for FISA surveillance, including American citizens, seamlessly integrating them into America's most sophisticated intelligence apparatus. Federal courts have previously determined that Treasury Department asset freezes implicate Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections, requiring judicial warrants and due process. Legal experts note the wide discretion given to cabinet secretaries, combined with broad definitions of "material support," lack of adequate notice, and limited judicial review, creates substantial risk that innocent individuals and organizations could be swept into designation as terrorists. The order's stated objective is to "eliminate the designated chapters' capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and end any threat," language that signals comprehensive suppression rather than targeted counterterrorism.