Congress moves to check terror ties in allied countries

Some of America’s closest security partnerships, the kind that unlock discounted weapons deals and deeper military cooperation, are held with countries that also happen to host branches of organizations Washington has formally labeled terrorist groups, and the House of Representatives just voted to force a regular accounting of exactly how bad that overlap really is.

The House passed the Major Non-NATO Ally Terror Threat Assessment Act on July 13, a bill from Rep. Matt Van Epps, a Tennessee Republican and member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, that requires the Department of Homeland Security to produce a classified report identifying which foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists operate inside countries holding the government’s Major Non-NATO Ally status, a designation that currently applies to a group of close U.S. partners that includes nations like Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Qatar, among others.

“I am grateful my Major Non-NATO Ally Terror Threat Assessment Act passed the House of Representatives today,” Van Epps said.

“When the United States designates a nation as a Major non-NATO ally, it’s a significant move. Giving a country MNNA status is not merely symbolic; it comes with practical benefits, but also risks. This legislation strengthens coordination between the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to better assess and support MNNA partners as they confront terrorist threats within their own borders. This will ensure Congress has the information it needs to provide effective oversight as a partner with this administration,” Van Epps said.

Created under the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, MNNA status gives a country expedited access to American weapons sales through the Foreign Military Sales system, eligibility for Foreign Military Financing that helps allies afford U.S. equipment, deeper defense research cooperation, and even the potential for the U.S. military to pre-position equipment on that country’s soil, all without the mutual defense obligations that come with actual NATO membership. Presidents cannot hand out or revoke that status quietly either, since federal law requires at least 30 days’ notice to Congress before any change, underscoring how seriously the designation is meant to be treated even though it currently applies to a group of countries the executive branch’s own materials describe as either 19 or 20 in number, a discrepancy between the Congressional Research Service’s official bill summary and the bill sponsor’s own released materials that has not been publicly reconciled, alongside Taiwan, which receives MNNA-equivalent treatment without a formal designation.

The United States formally designated chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood in both Egypt and Jordan as foreign terrorist organizations in 2025, and both of those countries hold Major Non-NATO Ally status, meaning a group Washington has determined threatens American national security operates within the borders of nations receiving expedited access to U.S. weapons. A separate House committee report on the bill pointed to another example, noting that Qatar has held MNNA status since 2022 even as Hamas, designated a foreign terrorist organization since 1997, maintains a presence connected to the country, a relationship the report cited as further evidence that current oversight has not kept pace with how these designations can end up overlapping in practice.

Van Epps addressed that gap directly on the House floor before the vote.

“When the United States designates a nation as a Major non-NATO ally, it comes with security cooperation and possible trade deals for defense equipment. This is an important designation that our nation does not grant lightly,” Van Epps said.

“However, we cannot ignore the fact that foreign terrorist organizations continue to operate in or around some MNNA countries, creating threats that could have serious consequences for U.S. national security. For that reason, it’s critical for Congress to have a full picture of the terrorist organizations that may be operating within our partner nations,” Van Epps said.

Under the bill’s text, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have 180 days after the legislation becomes law to deliver the first classified assessment to Congress, working alongside the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, with updated versions required every two years after that. Each report would need to identify every relevant terrorist group or designated individual present in each MNNA country, describe what those groups are actually doing there, including any use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technology, evaluate how seriously each partner government is working to disrupt that activity and how well it cooperates with American intelligence agencies, and assess whether the Department of Homeland Security itself has the tools to stop affiliated individuals from entering the United States. The bill also requires a congressional briefing every time a new assessment is submitted, giving lawmakers a recurring, structured checkpoint rather than relying on ad hoc intelligence briefings or news reports to learn what is happening inside allied nations.

The legislation cleared the House Homeland Security Committee by a lopsided 28 to 2 vote before reaching the floor, a margin suggesting the underlying concept, more regular visibility into terrorist activity within allied nations, drew support across party lines even in a Congress often divided on foreign policy questions. Passage in the House is only the first hurdle, though, since the bill still needs Senate approval in identical form and a presidential signature before it becomes law, and no timeline for Senate action has been set as of this writing.