Trump’s week in review: Weed farm raids, restricting public benefits for illegal immigrants

By Michael Gryboski, Editor
Saturday, July 12, 2025

2. Lifts terror designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria

Supporters welcome the leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (C), before his address at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024. Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, gave a speech as the crowd chanted "Allahu akbar (Allah is greatest)," a video shared by the rebels on their Telegram channel showed. | AREF TAMMAWI/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. State Department has lifted the terror designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the militant group that led the effort to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

HTS, which was labeled a terrorist organization in 2018, led the coalition that ultimately overthrew the Assad regime last December amid a civil war that began in 2011.

The State Department announced the revocation of the Foreign Terrorist Organization label under the Immigration and Nationality Act, citing the "momentum" created by Trump's June 30 executive order that ended sanctions on Syria and commended the "positive actions" of the new government.

However, groups like the Iraqi Christian Foundation have criticized the administration's decision, citing ongoing concerns about Christian persecution in Syria since the downfall of Assad.

"The Trump Administration just revoked the terrorist designation for Al Nusra Front (AlQaeda/HTS). The same people that killed scores of American soldiers in Iraq and thousands of Americans on 9/11," the group stressed in a statement.

"The same group that crucified Christians in Syria and murdered Bishops/Priests/Nuns in Iraq in cold blood. This is an injustice!"