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Congress wants Trump to resume aid to Syria

While Congress seeks to ensure that President Donald Trump resumes Syria stabilization aid, they also want to keep it out of the hands of Bashar al-Assad.
A handicapped man rides a bicycle past damaged buildings in the besieged town of Douma in eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, March 1, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh - RC19231603F0

President Donald Trump’s Syria policy is coming under heightened scrutiny from Congress following his decision to freeze $200 million in stabilization aid to Syria.

The purse-string holders in the Senate today cleared an annual foreign aid spending bill that allocates $150 million in Syrian stabilization assistance in an apparent rebuke of Trump’s aid freeze. While Congress has authorized funding to help Syrian civilians rebuild their country since 2013, this is the first time congressional appropriators have mandated stabilization funding levels in the bill.

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