Latest news with #CaesarAct
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
SETF Urges Lawmakers To Vote No Today On H.R. 4427
July 22, 2025, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) urges all members of Congress to vote NO on H.R. 4427, the Syria bill in the House Financial Services Committee. This law would put in new conditions to the Caesar Act which did not apply to Assad, and require they be met for two full years after being signed into law, which would end up being 2028. This goes against President Trump's agenda of 'giving Syria a chance' and allowing long term investment in Syria. The Syrian Emergency Task Force brought key witnesses like 'Caesar', 'The Gravedigger' and victims of torture that helped make the 'Caesar Act' law, in order to help stop the genocidal massacres of the Assad regime, and we are now calling for its full repeal. Today, with H.R. 4427 Congress is sanctioning the Syrian people. President Trump's administration has a clear policy on Syria to lift sanctions and give Syria a chance, this bill does the opposite. SETF and Ambassador Tom Barrack have publicly endorsed Rep. Wilson's (R-SC) bill (H.R. 3941), to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019. This bill has bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives, including six Republicans and four Democrats, and has a bipartisan companion bill in the U.S. Senate (S.2133), with the same name. It is the moral obligation of Congress to fully repeal Caesar which was about punishing Assad not the Syrian people.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Republican moves to permanently repeal sanctions on Syria
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) on Wednesday filed text to permanently repeal legislation that imposed strict sanctions on Syria, following President Trump's move to unwind penalties on the country following the ousting of longtime dictator Bashar Assad. Wilson moved to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, filing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act — must-pass legislation that is usually voted on by the end of the year. 'I am trying to use every mechanism possible to repeal this law as soon as possible,' Wilson said in a statement to The Hill. 'As the Caesar law was passed and extended through the National Defense Authorization Act, I am hopeful that the repeal could also move through the same vehicle. Unless we repeal the law, investors will not take the risks required for long term investment in Syria which will be necessary to Make Syria Great Again.' While Trump announced in May that he was lifting all sanctions on Syria, he is only able to issue a 180-day waiver to the Caesar Act permitting international transactions with Syria's central bank and government ministries. Repealing the legislation in total would allow investors to make longer-term commitments without the threat of sanctions going back into effect. The Caesar Act's 2019 passage was celebrated as landmark legislation imposing the toughest sanctions regime against Assad for gross human rights violations carried out under his rule and throughout the country's civil war, which began in 2011. The bill was named for a Syrian whistleblower, Farid Nada al-Madhan, who was code-named Caesar and exposed the Assad regime's torture and killing of detainees. Al-Madhan was a photographer who worked with the Syrian military and smuggled out photographic evidence of war crimes. Congress renewed the Caesar Act in December for five years, shortly before Assad was ousted in a shocking offensive by interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Caesar Act supporters had advocated for the 2019 law's renewal in the face of the former Biden administration's quiet negotiations allowing countries to normalize relations with Assad and ease sanctions. But with HTS's lightning takeover of the country, advocates supporting Caesar's renewal are now pushing Congress to repeal the law and lift sanctions on the country. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio removed the terrorist designation on HTS. The State Department is also expected to review Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for repeal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
House Republican moves to permanently repeal sanctions on Syria
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) on Wednesday filed text to permanently repeal legislation that imposed strict sanctions on Syria, following President Trump's move to unwind penalties on the country following the ousting of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad. Wilson moved to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, filing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), considered must-pass legislation that is usually voted on by the end of the year. 'I am trying to use every mechanism possible to repeal this law as soon as possible,' Wilson said in a statement to The Hill. 'As the Caesar law was passed and extended through the National Defense Authorization Act, I am hopeful that the repeal could also move through the same vehicle. Unless we repeal the law, investors will not take the risks required for long term investment in Syria which will be necessary to Make Syria Great Again.' While Trump announced in May that he was lifting all sanctions on Syria, he is only able to issue a 180-day waiver to the Caesar Act permitting international transactions with Syria's Central Bank and government ministries. Repealing the legislation in total would allow investors to make longer-term commitments without the threat of sanctions going back into effect. The Caesar Act's 2019 passage was celebrated as landmark legislation imposing the toughest sanctions regime against Assad for gross human rights violations carried out under his rule and throughout the country's civil war, which began in 2011. The bill was named for a Syrian whistleblower, Fared al Madhan, who was code-named Caesar and exposed the Assad regimes torture and killing of detainees. Al Madhan was a photographer who worked with the Syrian military and smuggled out photographic evidence of war crimes. Congress renewed the Caesar Act in December for five years, shortly before Assad was ousted in a shocking offensive by now interim-Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. Caesar supporters had advocated for the 2019 law's renewal in the face of the former Biden administration's quiet negotiations allowing countries to normalize with Assad and ease sanctions. But with HTS's lightning takeover of the country, advocates supporting Caesar's renewal are now pushing Congress to repeal the law and lift sanctions on the country. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio removed the terrorist designation on HTS. The State Department is also expected to review Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for repeal.
Los Angeles Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump administration revokes terrorism designation of new Syrian leader's group
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is revoking the terrorism designation of a group led by Syria's new president as part of a broader U.S. engagement with the transitional government since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad late last year. In a statement released on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move, which will take effect on Tuesday, 'recognizes the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government' under President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Earlier Monday, the Federal Register published an advance notice, which said Rubio made the decision on June 23 in consultation with the attorney general and Treasury secretary. The decision had not been previously announced, although it was made as the Trump administration has been moving to ease or end many U.S. sanctions that had been imposed during Assad's rule. The step looks to further end Syria's isolation since a lightning rebel offensive ousted the Assad family from decades of rule and gives the new government a boost as it tries to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. The brief notice offered no details about the revocation of the foreign terrorist organization designation for the al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Al-Nusrah was originally designated a foreign terrorist organization for its previous affiliation with Al Qaeda. In 2017, it split and changed its name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the first Trump administration added to the initial designation. Syria has been improving relations with the United States and other Western countries following the fall of Assad in December in an offensive led by Al-Sharaa 's group. On June 30, seven days after Rubio signed the revocation, President Trump signed an executive order ending many U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to Al-Sharaa when the two met in Saudi Arabia in May. 'This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump's vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria,' Rubio said in his statement. Trump's executive order did not rescind sanctions imposed on Assad, his top aides, family members and officials who had been determined to have committed human rights abuses or been involved in drug trafficking or part of Syria's chemical weapons program. It also leaves intact a major set of sanctions passed by Congress targeting anyone doing business with or offering support to Syria's military, intelligence or other suspect institutions. While the Trump administration has passed temporary waivers on those sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, they can only be permanently repealed by law. Lee writes for the Associated Press.
Hamilton Spectator
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump administration revokes terrorism designation of new Syrian leader's group
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is revoking the terrorism designation of a group led by Syria's new president as part of a broader U.S. engagement with the transitional government since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad late last year. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he took the step in consultation with the attorney general and treasury secretary on June 23. The decision had not been previously announced, although it was made as the Trump administration has been moving to ease or end many U.S. sanctions that had been imposed during Assad's rule. The step looks to further end Syria's isolation since a lightning rebel offensive ousted the Assad family from decades of rule and gives the new government a boost as it tries to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of civil war . The brief notice, which was put online in an advance public inspection section of the Federal Register website on Monday, offered no details but said the revocation of the foreign terrorist organization designation for the al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, would take effect when it is formally published. Al-Nusrah was originally designated a foreign terrorist organization for its previous affiliation with al-Qaida. In 2017, it split and changed its name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the first Trump administration added to the initial designation. U.S. officials said the formal revocation of the designation would be published Tuesday and would be accompanied by statements from the State and Treasury departments. Syria has been improving relations with the United States and other Western countries following the fall of Assad in December in an offensive led by now-interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa 's group. On June 30, seven days after Rubio signed the revocation, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending many U.S. economic sanctions on Syria , following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa when the two met in Saudi Arabia in May. The order was meant to end the country's isolation from the international financial system and allow it to open up for commerce and investment, officials said at the time. The relief did not rescind sanctions imposed on Assad, his top aides, family members and officials who had been determined to have committed human rights abuses or been involved in drug trafficking or part of Syria's chemical weapons program. It also leaves intact a major set of sanctions passed by Congress targeting anyone doing business with or offering support to Syria's military, intelligence or other suspect institutions. While the Trump administration has passed temporary waivers on those sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, they can only be permanently repealed by law. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
