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Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pledged Saturday to block the release of $235 million in military aid to Egypt, a move that could force the Biden administration to reverse its decision to prioritize national security interests over Congressional concerns about the country’s human rights record.
In a statement, Cardin also threatened to withhold future military aid to Egypt unless the country made demonstrable progress in releasing political prisoners, improving conditions for human rights activists and other issues.
“I think it is imperative that we continue to hold the government of Egypt, and all governments, accountable for their human rights violations,” Cardin said. “I intend to fully exercise the oversight responsibilities of the committee and my authorities to block future foreign military funding as well as arms sales to the government of Egypt if it does not take concrete, meaningful and sustainable steps to improve human rights conditions in this country. country.”
Cardin’s move comes just days after he took over as chairman of the foreign relations panel from Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who was accused last week of accepting bribes to facilitate sales of military equipment to Egypt and help an Egyptian American with close ties to the Cairo government with his halal meat certification business.
Those accusations have increased pressure on lawmakers, particularly Democrats, to distance themselves from Menendez and insist that Egypt meet human rights benchmarks required by Congress before military aid is transferred.
Menéndez, who resigned as committee chairman, has maintained his innocence.
Cardin told reporters this week that as president he would “ensure that our foreign policy is wrapped in our values: democracy, human rights, anti-corruption, transparency and accountability.”
But the decision to double down on that promise regarding military aid from Egypt put him in direct conflict with the Biden administration.
State Department officials previously decided that the security relationship between Cairo and Washington was too vital to jeopardize by withholding the $235 million in military aid and that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was pressuring the Egyptian government over human rights issues in other forums.
On Friday, Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Democrat of New York and ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called on the State Department to “stop some US military financing to Egypt that is conditioned on human rights criteria.” “, arguing that Congress “needed more clarity” on how those concerns were being addressed.
Republican leaders of the Senate and House foreign affairs panels have not publicly recorded any objections.
For decades, the State Department has deferred to the leaders of the Senate and House panels that oversee foreign affairs when they opposed arms transfers to foreign governments, although the Trump administration contemplated ending that practice and used his emergency powers to overtake Congress in 2019.
Egypt has been a major recipient of American military aid since signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and currently receives approximately $1.3 billion a year in foreign military financing. However, some of that aid is conditional on Egypt making human rights improvements, although Congress gives the government a waiver that can be used to circumvent those requirements.
In the fiscal cycle ending Saturday night, $320 million of Egypt’s military assistance was supposed to be tied to the government’s progress in human rights, but the Biden administration decided to withhold only $85 million.
Two weeks ago, The administration announced that the remaining $235 million would be awarded to Egypt, similar to decisions in previous years to waive congressional stipulations and provide Egypt with aid that was supposed to be tied to its human rights performance.
State Department officials declined to say how the agency would respond to Cardin’s announcement. A spokesman said officials were still holding talks with Congress about how to provide Egypt with the military aid that Cardin had decided to block while ensuring Cairo made progress on human rights.
Eduardo Wong contributed to this report.