White House to decide if Egyptian act was a 'coup'

President Obama (Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)

The White House said Monday it will review whether last week's removal of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi constituted 'a coup,' a decision that would affect U.S. aid to the embattled nation.

'This is a complex and difficult issue, with significant consequences,' said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other lawmakers said what happened in Egypt last week was clearly a coup, as the military removed and detained Morsi, established an interim government and called for new elections

'It is difficult for me to conclude that what happened was anything other than a coup in which the military played a decisive role,' McCain said.

U.S. law forbids aid to countries where an elected official is deposed by a military coup.

Carney noted that many Egyptian citizens do not believe that the actions constituted a coup, saying the military intervened against an increasingly authoritarian government and it has intense public support.

The White House spokesman said that cutting off aid to Egypt right away wouldn't be in anybody's best interest, and that the administration would work with Congress moving forward.

Speaking just hours after more than 50 people reportedly died in clashes between the military and pro-Morsi demonstrators, Carney said 'we strongly condemn any violence.'

But as White House officials have done throughout the past week, Carney sought to walk a fine line between critics and supporters of Morsi and the military, saying the U.S. is not taking any sides in their dispute. He said decisions about the government in Egypt should be made by the Egyptians themselves.

The Egyptian military should exhibit 'maximum restraint,' Carney said, but he also criticized the Muslim Brotherhood's call for an uprising against the military.

'We call on all parties to exercise restraint,' Carney said.