Unfortunately when it comes to actually doing something about Islamic terrorism, it's business as usual. As Ryan Mauro reports at the Clarion Project, the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act remains stalled.
Eighty members of Congress, including two Democrats, now support the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, with one more congressman and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee signing up since the last update. There’s only one problem: The Republican leadership is stalling it, even though the House version passed the Judiciary Committee.
The two new cosponsors are Senator David Perdue (R-GA) and Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA). The former is especially significant because he is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where it is held up. A list of cosponsors and opponents is available at the bottom of this article.
Terrorism expert Patrick Poole writes that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker (R-TN), has not even held hearings on the bill, much less arranged for it to be voted on. Corker is reportedly being vetted as a potential running mate for Donald Trump.
The story is even more discouraging in the House, where support for the bill was proven when it passed the Judiciary Committee. Yet, Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy have not given any public indication that he’ll have the House vote on it.
There's no reason to view any of this as surprising.
Despite recent events this is still the GOP where McCain and Graham's ideas on foreign policy rule the roost. It's the GOP of Sam LaHood and the International Republican Institute. And Bob Corker, well everyone remembers the Iran Deal. Paul Ryan is going to be getting whatever foreign policy he has from the same expert class that championed the Arab Spring.
This is a group that views hostility to the Muslim Brotherhood as "crazy". And not something to be listened to or taken seriously. While change is occurring at the margins, the rotten establishment core is going to keep on dismissing the issue until it is forced to confront it.