Senate rejects bid to block $2B sale of military planes to Egypt

The Senate on Thursday beat back an effort to cancel a $2 billion deal to sell military cargo planes to Egypt over the country's human rights record.

The vote was a whopping 81-18 against advancing a resolution offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to disapprove the sale.

Paul's legislation would have terminated a $2.2 billion sale of a dozen C-130J cargo planes, engines and related equipment.

The Biden administration has walked a fine line on Egypt. The State Department in late January elected to continue withholding $130 million in military aid, but just days earlier had notified lawmakers of the multibillion-dollar aircraft sale.

On the Senate floor, Paul dinged President Joe Biden for emphasizing human rights in U.S. foreign policy but continuing to arm Egypt. The senator criticized the decision to withhold a relatively small amount of military aid as a "slap on the wrist" while continuing larger arms sales.

"We should end military sales to Egypt's criminal masters," Paul said. "Partially taking away some military aid while offering new sales that are 10 times what we've withheld shows weakness in the face of oppression."

The vote saw majorities in both parties oppose Paul's resolution. Top Democrats — including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Armed Services Chair Jack Reed of Rhode Island — opposed the measure.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an advocate of withholding aid to Egypt over its human rights record, sided with Paul and supported the resolution.

Lawmakers have pressured the Biden administration to reel in military aid for Egypt to force reforms in that country.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in September that $130 million in military aid would be held back unless Egypt made progress on human rights. That aid was part of a tranche of $300 million conditioned by Congress on human rights improvements and strengthening the rule of law. The State Department released the remaining $170 million.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi released some political prisoners since the U.S. first withheld the funding in the fall. Still, his government has cracked down on political opponents in recent years, and Egypt's lack of progress on improving human rights spurred Blinken to continue withholding the money.

Menendez and the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, led the opposition to Paul on the floor.

Chief among their objections is that the Lockheed Martin-built cargo aircraft aren't offensive weapons systems. Menendez argued that the sale of cargo planes falls "squarely" in the category of non-lethal sales and argued the U.S. can continue to push Egypt to reform while continuing its long-running military relationship.

"These sales that we're talking about here to Egypt present no direct human rights concerns and should be separated from that conversation," Risch added.

The senators also voiced procedural concerns with Paul's resolution, which may have contributed to the overwhelming vote to shelve it.

Menendez and Risch also complained that Paul's resolution falls outside the 30-day statutory window to reject the sale, though the Senate's parliamentarian ruled that the measure could still come to the floor. The ruling, they argued, would render the legislation moot and set a negative precedent for future actions on arms sales.