"Coup." The single word President Barack Obama didn't say in his statement Thursday morning about the bloodshed in Egypt is the most important one for an unusual array of senators, including foreign aid sparring partners Rand Paul and John McCain. Use of that term would force the administration to cut off aid to Egypt under existing U.S. law. Obama didn’t respond to a shouted question at the end of his prepared remarks regarding foreign assistance. Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained to reporters on Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday that the administration had previously announced that it “had arrived at the conclusion that we’re not going to make a final determination about the coup." On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both parties have described the situation in Egypt as a coup, with even the most ardent national security hawks saying the law requires that $1.5 billion in assistance must be pulled, at least temporarily. (more…)
