The US state department has distanced itself from comments by a US special envoy, to the effect that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should stay in office during a power transition. Spokesman Philip Crowley said Frank Wisner's views were his own, and not co-ordinated with the US government.
Hundreds of protesters are refusing to leave Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Mr Mubarak has vowed to stand down in September. Earlier, he replaced the leadership of his ruling party.
The entire politburo including his son Gamal lost their jobs.
Hossam Badrawi, a reformer and top physician, took the post of head of the policies committee, held by Gamal Mubarak, and that of secretary-general.
On Friday US President Barack Obama urged Mr Mubarak to "make the right decision" and to begin the transition "now", without explicitly saying he should step down.
Opposition demonstrators still occupy Tahrir Square, the main focus of the protests, but their numbers have fallen from Friday's huge rally there.
Late on Friday, hundreds of people attempted to prevent the army from breaking up their encampments - some lay on the ground in front of the tanks to block their progress.
The military want to re-open the square to the public and confine the protests to a small area.
But the BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says the city is still remarkably quiet 12 days after the protests began, as people wait to see what happens next.
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