Today, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that for the first time links US assistance to Egypt to Cairo’s military relationship with North Korea.
Buried in the massive $1.3 trillion bill to fund the government through Sept. 30 is a provision that sets new conditions on US aid to Egypt ahead of next week’s election, in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is all but guaranteed re-election. The bill conditions a greater portion of military assistance to progress on human rights, while seeking to shed light on shady dealings with Pyongyang that have harmed an otherwise chummy relationship between Trump and Sisi.
