Why Senate Democrats are urging Biden to withhold part of Egypt's military aid
The letter led by Sen. Chris Murphy called for the Biden administration to withhold $320 million from Egypt's annual military assistance package.
WASHINGTON — A group of US senators is urging the Biden administration to withhold a fraction of Egypt’s annual military assistance over human rights concerns.
“Egypt’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate, despite the Egyptian government’s claims to the contrary,” read a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent Friday led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and 10 other liberal senators, among them Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
At roughly $1.3 billion, Egypt is the second-largest recipient of US foreign military financing after Israel. For fiscal year 2022, Congress has conditioned $320 million of that assistance on the North African country meeting certain human rights benchmarks.
New: US Sen. @ChrisMurphyCT and 10 other lawmakers urge the Biden administration to withhold $320 million of Egypt's annual $1.3 billion in military aid in line with FY22 Appropriations Act.
— Jared Szuba (@JM_Szuba) July 28, 2023
"For each political prisoner that has been released, Egypt has detained three more." pic.twitter.com/Dj1Pbtvk64
Of that funding, $235 million is tied to Egypt taking “sustained and effective steps” on issues including the rule of law, women’s rights and protecting fundamental freedoms. The remaining $85 million is tied to the Egyptian government making “clear and consistent progress” in releasing political prisoners, providing detainees with due process of law and preventing the intimidation and harassment of American citizens.
