US Election Reopens Debate Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence in Washington

Republicans say the movement is trying to penetrate US institutions, while a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan rejects claims that he has links to the group

Senator Ted Cruz has put the Muslim Brotherhood back at the centre of Washington politics, and the issue now runs through one of November's most closely watched Senate races.

In August, Mr Cruz, a Texas Republican, chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America". It examined the group's alleged efforts to gain influence within American nonprofits, political organisations, universities, courts, taxpayer-funded programmes and other institutions.

"Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and now the United States have all designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation," Mr Cruz told the hearing.

US designations so far apply only to specific national branches, not to the movement as a whole. In January, the State Department designated the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, while the Treasury designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the move as "the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort" against Brotherhood chapters. Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence, and the Egyptian and Lebanese chapters pushed back on their inclusion.

Democrats on the subcommittee boycotted the hearing, which they said targeted the entire American Muslim community, and Mr Cruz was the only senator from either party to attend.

Mr Cruz has long pushed Congress to go further. He has introduced versions of the Muslim Brotherhood designation bill in 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2025, and the current bill has 10 co-sponsors, including Democratic Senator John Fetterman.

Michigan Senate race

The hearing also turned to Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan-born physician of Egyptian descent. It took place one day after he won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Michigan, and Mr Cruz accused him of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in November. Polls show him narrowly ahead, and if he wins he would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.President Donald Trump has since made the claim directly. "He's a Muslim Brotherhood guy. One hundred percent," Mr Trump said at a White House event. He has also repeatedly referred to Mr El-Sayed as "Mohammed".
Mr El-Sayed denies any connection to the group. At a town hall this month he said he "absolutely" disavows the Muslim Brotherhood. An analysis by the non-profit newsroom Bridge Michigan found no direct evidence for Mr Rogers' claim that he had pledged support to the group, though he had occasionally commented on Egyptian affairs and on politicians associated with it.

2012 statement on Egypt

The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative outlet, has reported that Mr El-Sayed was among those who signed a 2012 statement supporting Egypt's then-president Mohamed Morsi. According to the Free Beacon, the Arabic-language statement appeared on the Egyptian news portal Al-Ahram Gate and was signed by 46 people described as "leaders of the Egyptian community" in the United States. It was published days after Mr Morsi granted himself broad new powers. That decree placed his decisions beyond judicial review and drew widespread protests in Egypt.

The Free Beacon says sources familiar with Arabic-language media confirmed that the candidate is the same "Dr Abdul Rahman El-Sayed" who signed the letter. Mr El-Sayed has not been accused of any involvement in the unrest that followed in Egypt.

Family scrutiny

Much of the recent debate has centred on Mr El-Sayed's relatives rather than on his own actions. US media have reported that old social media posts by his half-sister resurfaced in which, in 2012, she described a conversation with their mother about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1970s. Mr El-Sayed has said he has no ties to the group and has never discussed the Muslim Brotherhood with his mother. PBS NewsHour reported that there is no evidence he has any affiliation with the group.Cair donations

Fox News has reported that Mr El-Sayed's campaign accepted donations from at least 41 individuals who work or worked for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), or have held leadership roles in it, totalling more than $115,000. According to the Free Beacon, his father-in-law, a Cair-Michigan board member, donated $100,000 to a super PAC linked to Cair.

Cair, which describes itself as America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has never been charged with a crime. The federal government has never designated it a terrorist organisation. Two Republican-led states have tried to do so, and both moves are being challenged in court:

• ● Texas: Governor Greg Abbott designated Cair a "foreign terrorist organisation" and "transnational criminal organisation" in November 2025, and Cair's Texas chapters filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the proclamation. The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, has separately sued to shut down Cair's operations in Texas. The case is still in pre-trial disclosure. In May, a federal judge allowed only a limited review of foreign donations made to Cair between 2021 and 2024.Florida: In March 2026, a federal court blocked Governor Ron DeSantis's December 2025 executive order labelling Cair a terrorist organisation, finding Cair was likely to show it violated the First Amendment. On 29 September, Mr DeSantis and the state cabinet then designated Cair, the Muslim Brotherhood and more than 90 other organisations as terror groups under a new state law. Cair has challenged that move too. On 6 October, Judge Mark Walker ruled that the designations do not take effect until 5 November, giving the court time to hear the state's arguments before deciding whether to intervene. Cair denies any links to terrorism. It says it has always condemned terrorism and violence.