Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has run an erratic foreign policy, failing to deliver a clear and consistent message to allies and enemies alike. So, when the State Department decided to cut and withhold a combined $295 million in economic and military aid to Egypt last week, despite exceedingly warm relations between Trump and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, many were once again left scratching their heads. For nearly a year, Trump has been an ardent supporter of the regime in Cairo, ending an era of rough-and-tumble relations between Egypt and the Obama administration.
Sisi, for his part, was one of Trump’s earliest foreign enthusiasts, meeting him in New York last September, when candidate Trump hailed the general-turned-autocrat as a “fantastic guy.” “Under a Trump administration,” he said, “the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead.” Sisi was also the first foreign leader to offer a congratulatory phone call following Trump’s victory in November, and the two met again in the Oval Office in April.
While a number of factors could have pushed the administration to suddenly eliminate or withhold a portion of the $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt, the decision likely signals a growing independence from within Rex Tillerson’s State Department, as the secretary charts a course distinct from the White House.