In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sent on Monday, Reps. Andy Barr (R-TN) and Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) called for the U.S. government to designate the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), also known as the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, as an affiliate of Hamas and a Specially Designated Terrorist group.

Israel, which describes the PCPA as the foreign representative body of Hamas, designated the PCPA as a terrorist organization in 2021. The Israeli government released documentation recovered from Hamas in Gaza allegedly showing links between the PCPA and the high-profile flotilla that last month attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, as well as  anti-Israel demonstrations and other anti-Israel activity abroad.

“Under the guise of a civilian organization, it orchestrates violent demonstrations, anti-Israel flotillas, and other provocations aimed at destabilizing the region and advancing Hamas’s global agenda of eliminating the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” Barr and Shreve wrote in their letter to Bessent. “Ultimately, the PCPA is not a benign advocacy group, but a coordinated network engaged in propaganda, logistical support, and international mobilizations on Hamas’s behalf.”

The letter cites the documentation released by the Israeli government showing direct connections between the PCPA and former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. It also highlights the links between the PCPA and the flotilla.

“At a time when the United States and its allies are working to promote peace and stability in the Middle East, we must confront organizations whose actions are the antithesis of those goals,” the letter continues. “The PCPA’s alignment with Hamas and its incitement of violence represent an acute challenge to regional and international security.”

The pair of Republicans urged Bessent to “swiftly” designate the PCPA and its affiliates as terrorists and impose sanctions in order to “disrupt the group’s capacity to bolster Hamas operations, prolong the war, obstruct the return of hostages, and perpetuate a cycle of violence in the region.”

Barr is a candidate for Senate in Kentucky, running for the seat of retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Both Barr and Shreve are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

On the sidelines of the Sun Valley Conference this week, Jordanian King Abdullah II met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Royal Hashemite Court said the two “discussed the positive economic relationship between the United States and Jordan.”

The Jordan Times, an English-language newspaper in the Hashemite Kingdom, wrote that in his meetings, the king “noted the importance of Jordan’s economic and administrative modernisation process in enhancing the Kingdom’s competitiveness and ability to attract investments, highlighting opportunities for building and strengthening economic partnerships.”

The Jordanian king is a rare  foreign head of state who attends the annual confab hosted by Allen & Co. The gathering brings together thought leaders, tech and media titans and current and former government officials every summer in Sun Valley, Idaho. Last year, King Abdullah met with Jeff Bezos and other business leaders on the sidelines of the conference. Jordan’s Queen Rania and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah were among the guests at the wedding of Bezos and Lauren Sánchez last month.

Other attendees at this year’s conference include Mark Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Sam Altman, Barry Diller, Alex Karp, Jared Kushner, Evan Spiegel, Ynon Kreiz, Charles Rivkin, David Zaslav, Brian Grazer, Bob Iger, David Ignatius, Bari Weiss, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mike Bloomberg, Govs. Wes Moore and Glenn Youngkin, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Casey Wasserman.