This is something many anticipated in 2017; particularly with the Mid-East visit by President Trump; but it never happened. However, according to the New York Times, President Trump has a renewed push toward designating The Muslim Brotherhood as an official terrorist group.

The Brotherhood is the political umbrella organization for a variety of extreme Islamist organizations; and was the primary driver of regional uprising during the Islamist Spring (Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen etc). Former President Obama looked warmly upon the Brotherhood and worked earnestly with them to fulfill their ideological goals.

The most visible effort of the political Brotherhood was in Egypt with the election of Mohammed Morsi; which led to widespread violence/chaos and the eventual call by the Egyptian people for General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to step-in.

The Brotherhood leadership was exiled from Egypt, and after a short time in Qatar -and confrontation by the Gulf Cooperation Council- they were given safe harbor in Turkey by Recep Erdogan. They likely remain in Turkey today.

By crafting themselves as a political ideology, the Brotherhood has allies in many areas, including within the U.S. government. Senator John McCain was aligned with the Brotherhood, as are many deep state officials and allies within the U.S. State Department and intelligence community. Former Secretary of State Kerry and CIA Director John Brennan supported the Brotherhood; as does current Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Presidential candidate Evan McMullin.

WASHINGTON — The White House is pushing to issue an order that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, bringing the weight of American sanctions against a storied and influential Islamist political movement with millions of members across the Middle East, according to officials familiar with the matter. The White House directed national security and diplomatic officials to find a way to place sanctions on the group after a White House visit on April 9 by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, for whom the Brotherhood represents a source of political opposition. In a private meeting without reporters and photographers, Mr. el-Sisi urged Mr. Trump to take that step and join Egypt in branding the movement a terrorist organization. Such a designation imposes wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on companies and individuals who interact with the targeted group. The president responded affirmatively to Mr. el-Sisi, saying it would make sense. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have interpreted that as a commitment, officials said. […] In a statement, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, acknowledged that the administration was working on designating the Muslim Brotherhood terrorists. “The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern, and this designation is working its way through the internal process,” Ms. Sanders said. John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, support the idea, officials said. But the Pentagon, career national security staff, government lawyers and diplomatic officials [aka ‘the deep state’] have voiced legal and policy objections, and have been scrambling to find a more limited step that would satisfy the White House. (read more)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been fighting the Muslim Brotherhood, and all their affiliates (ISIS, AQAP, AQIM, al Nusra, etc) for several years. No doubt Sisi would welcome and support the designation from President Trump.

BELOW: Here’s a brief pictorial history of U.S. political leaders who have supported the Muslim Brotherhood:

Keep in mind Mohammed Morsi, pictured above with former Secretary of State John Kerry, is in prison for life for killing Coptic Christians in Egypt during his reign of terror.