Trump accuses the Egyptian army of using the aid to buy Russian military equipment and threatens not to sign the relief project
US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday not to sign a $ 892 billion bill for Coronavirus relief that includes much-needed money for Americans, and called for it to be amended to increase the amount of the stimulus.
US government operations are being funded on an interim basis through Dec. 28, pending $ 1.4 trillion in federal spending for the 2021 fiscal year, also part of the bill.
The outgoing Republican president’s threat could derail bipartisan efforts in Congress to provide assistance to those whose lives have been upended by the pandemic.
“The bill they are now planning to send to my office is very different from what was expected… It is really a disgrace,” Trump said in a video clip on Twitter.
Both the House and Senate passed the legislation by an overwhelming majority on Monday.
Trump said he wants Congress to increase the stimulus amount to $ 2,000 for individuals or $ 4,000 for couples, instead of $ 600 for individuals in the current bill.
“I also ask Congress to immediately get rid of the unnecessary waste elements in this legislation, and send me an appropriate bill, otherwise the next administration will be forced to provide a Covid relief package,” he added.
Trump also accused the Egyptian military of using US aid to purchase Russian military equipment.
Commenting on the draft resolution approved by Congress regarding the “Covid-19” aid package, Trump said that members of Congress had not even read the content of the bill, which, according to him, includes “$ 85.5 million to aid Cambodia, $ 134 million for Myanmar, and $ 1.3 billion”.
To Egypt, where the Egyptian army will go out to buy almost exclusively Russian military equipment, $ 25 million for democracy programs in Pakistan, and other unnecessary items for relief from the Coronavirus.
