Senators rebuke Egypt as White House rolls out red carpet for Sisi
Congress is pushing the Donald Trump administration to take a tougher line on Egypt amid concerns that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will use this week’s White House visit to legitimize his efforts to extend his rule through 2034.
Congress is playing spoiler as the White House prepares to roll out the red carpet Tuesday for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the Egyptian leader looks to extend his rule for the next decade and a half.
Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Bob Menendez, D-N.J. — the chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively — led 15 of their colleagues in a letter today pushing back against Cairo. The bipartisan group asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to address “three pressing issues” with Sisi during his visit this week: the potential term-limit extension, Cairo’s pending purchase of Russian fighter jets and what senators said were “at least a dozen” US citizens “unjustly detained” in Egypt.
“If adopted, proposed amendments to Egypt’s constitution that the parliament is currently considering would erode the independence of Egypt’s judiciary, giving President Sisi the power to hand-select the heads of judicial bodies, and may ultimately allow [him] to extend his rule until 2034,” the senators wrote in the letter. “The proposed amendments would also expand the military’s influence over government, politics and society.”
The senators also expressed particular concern over Egypt’s recent $2 billion contract to purchase 20 Su-35 aircraft from Russia, which could trigger US sanctions.
