Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is planning to re-introduce a bill that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group after the Boulder attack launched by Mohamed Soliman.
Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, has publicly supported the group on his social media accounts, according to reports from CNN.
Cruz said Tuesday that he would craft a “modernized version” of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act he previously backed while blaming Democrats for a lack of constraints.
“The Muslim Brotherhood uses political violence to achieve political ends and destabilize American allies, both within countries and across national boundaries. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas, a terrorist group which on October 7th committed the largest one day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and which included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans,” Cruz said in a statement to The Hill.
“The Brotherhood used the Biden administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security,” he added.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The label was given after members were successfully elected to political positions of power prior to military rule in Egypt, where the group was founded.
Their worldwide reputation is linked to violence although its originators renounced brutal attacks in the 1970s and earned popular support by providing social services such as pharmacies, hospitals, and schools according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Lawmakers across the aisle have sided with Cruz, urging President Trump to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood with a terrorist organization designation.
“Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) wrote in a Tuesday post on X.
Trump considered undertaking the measure during his first administration but ultimately never designated the organization as a terrorist group.
At the time, lawmakers and national officials did not believe the group met the criteria to be labeled as a foreign terrorist organization.
The White House and Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter.