ICYMI: 'Reject tyranny': Nancy Mace bill would force Biden to declare Taliban a terrorist organization

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill that would force the Biden administration to designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

"Freedom and justice demand we reject tyranny and oppression in all forms. Our bill ensures America never recognizes the Taliban's terror-driven regime," Mace told Fox News Digital. "By prohibiting any federal actions implying their legitimacy and designating them as state sponsors of terrorism, we stand firm against this rogue state's barbarism. The Taliban are terrorists, plain and simple."

The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan since the U.S. military's chaotic withdrawal from the country in August 2021. 

While an offshoot of the militant group, dubbed the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), is on the State Department's FTO list, the nationalist group that took Kabul in a lightning-fast offensive three years ago is not, despite its history of supporting and fueling terrorism in the Middle East.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is leading a bill to designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization. (Getty Images)

Earlier this year, a new United Nations report accused the Taliban of giving support to the TTP, which the report called the "largest terrorist group" in Afghanistan, according to Voice of America.

It also accused the Taliban of supporting the group's attacks on Pakistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan.

"The Taliban have proved unable or unwilling to manage the threat from Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, whose attacks into Pakistan have intensified," the report said. "Taliban support to TTP also appears to have increased."

An outlet called Iran International also reported in June that the Taliban had been discussing a possible joint action against Israel, the U.S.' top ally in the Middle East.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan as the U.S. was withdrawing its military. (Getty Images)

Mace's bill would also stop the U.S. government from ever recognizing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as a legitimate government, which it currently does not, and instead label it a state sponsor of terrorism.

The legislation is the House of Representatives' counterpart to a bill introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., late last year.

Rubio said at the time that designating the Taliban as an FTO was a "logical step."

"A Taliban-controlled Afghanistan poses a direct threat to our national security interests as well as our allies and partners both in the Middle East and in Central Asia. The Biden Administration’s botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan has left the nation as a safe haven for anti-American terrorists," Rubio said.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.