US lawmaker pushes Obama to aid Egypt in Daesh fight

A senior Republican lawmaker told President Barack Obama she was prepared to block foreign aid money if the administration did not provide fighter jets and tanks to Egypt and arms to other regional allies fighting the terrorist Daesh group, Al Arabiya News reported.
In a letter to Obama, Kay Granger, chairwoman of the House of Representatives State and Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said Egypt needed F-16 aircraft, M1A1 Abrams tanks and other weapons that have been held up since 2013.
Granger has the power to place holds on foreign aid, including general assistance and weapons shipments.
Granger urged the administration to give Iraqi Kurds tools and training to fight Daesh and to make providing weapons to Jordan a priority, according to the letter.
The letter criticized the administration as Congress was about to consider Obama’s request for formal authority for a military campaign against Daesh.
Republicans, who took control of the US Congress in January, have pressed for more robust US military involvement in fighting the militants, who have killed thousands of civilians while seizing territory in Iraq and Syria.
“As Egypt, Jordan, and the Kurds retaliate and defend themselves against Daesh's heinous acts, US security assistance is being held or delayed by bureaucratic processes and ill-advised policy decisions by your administration,” Granger wrote.
The US State Department referred requests for comment to the White House, where officials did not immediately respond.