Trump allies push back on Muslim Brotherhood terror designation
Even some hawkish lawmakers question the legal validity and political wisdom of a blanket designation.
Some of President Donald Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill and in right-leaning foreign policy circles are expressing skepticism over the president’s renewed push to label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
The pushback comes after The New York Times reported this week that Trump had requested his national security staff to look into designating the Islamist movement as a terrorist organization in April, at the request of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Arguments for and against the designation mirror those made when Trump was first elected after a campaign that focused largely on the perceived threat of political Islamism.
