WASHINGTON — US lawmakers did not raise any objections to a proposed $1.3 billion military assistance package for Egypt during two days of hearings with Secretary of State John Kerry. Their silence is the clearest sign yet that Congress is lining up behind President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he takes on Islamic State (IS) and other Islamists.

The lack of questioning stands in stark contrast with the past few years, when US assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi — and to Sisi after the former military chief overthrew him — dominated State Department budget hearings. Even as recently as December, top lawmakers writing the annual spending bill clashed over the conditions for restoring military aid and whether to give Kerry the authority to waive provisions requiring him to certify Egypt's progress on certain democracy and human rights standards.

Military aid "has been a big part of the budget debate every year — except this year," said Cole Bockenfeld, advocacy director for the Project on Middle East Democracy. "For a lot of people, there's an all-encompassing focus on getting Egypt in the fight and making any and all concessions needed."

This time around, the few lawmakers who mentioned Egypt at all grilled Kerry on getting military aid out the door faster.