Biden’s Shocking Move: Full Funding for Egypt Despite Rights Abuses Sparks Senate Outrage

On Thursday, numerous Democratic U.S. senators expressed their disapproval of the Biden administration’s choice to provide $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, even though the Middle Eastern nation’s oppressive regime continues to commit human rights violations.

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waived human rights stipulations attached to $225 million of the aid package. He justified his decision by citing Egypt’s strategic significance and the nation’s role in trying to negotiate a truce agreement to stop the attacks on Gaza by Israel, which is currently facing genocide charges at the International Court of Justice.

“Egypt is undeniably a highly oppressive authoritarian state.”

“The decision to waive conditions on an additional $225 million of military aid to Egypt, which is linked to broader advancements in democracy and human rights, has been made,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) in a statement on Thursday.

“Egypt is undeniably a highly oppressive authoritarian state, and I don’t see any valid reason to overlook this by waiving these conditions,” the senator further stated. “We have previously kept back this portion of Egypt’s military aid package while still maintaining our strategic relationship, and we should keep doing so.”

On Wednesday, Murphy and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) issued a joint statement condemning Biden’s decision to approve full funding to Egypt, focusing on a separate $95 million portion of aid released by the administration.

“The law is explicit: Egypt must demonstrate ‘clear and consistent progress’ in freeing political prisoners in order to receive $95 million—a small part—of its $1.3 billion military aid package this year,” the senators declared. “The Egyptian government has not met this requirement.”

“For every political prisoner Egypt has freed in the past year, they have incarcerated two more,” observed Murphy and Coons. “This doesn’t represent clear and consistent progress—it’s one step ahead and two steps back. Among the multitude of political prisoners that the government continues to withhold freedom from are two U.S. legal permanent residents, Hosam Khalaf and Salah Soltan.”

Last week, Murphy and Coons were among the nine Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who urged Blinken to “uphold the conditions established by Congress on holding Egypt accountable for progress on human rights” by withholding aid “until Egypt’s human rights situation improves.”

According to the most recent annual country report of the State Department, “there were no significant changes in Egypt’s human rights situation” between 2022 and 2023.

The report listed violations such as:

Reliable reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; severe and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; serious issues with the independence of the judiciary; political prisoners or detainees; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of relatives for alleged offenses committed by a family member.

“Egypt has not demonstrated consistent progress, yet the State Department has chosen to dispense additional military aid,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) said on Thursday. “The administration should use the leverage provided by Congress to stand up for the basic rights of Egyptian political prisoners and dissidents. This is what the people of Egypt and people worldwide rightfully expect from the United States.”