Senate Democrats block GOP’s ICC sanctions bill

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On Tuesday, Senate Democrats refused to let Republicans pass legislation that would penalize the International Criminal Court, arguing this bill would have far-reaching effects on the United States' allies and businesses.

The bill to shield America's allies and U.S. companies contracting with the court from ICC sanctions failed to advance, with 54 votes in favor and a final tally of 45 against. Senate Democrats had attempted to craft a bipartisan agreement on the bill to protect America's allies and U.S. companies from getting entangled in sanctions targeting the ICC for its cases against Israel.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote in favor of moving the legislation forward.

This vote marked one of the first setbacks to the Republican agenda in the Senate this session. Democrats also recently blocked a "born alive" abortion bill from passing in the upper chamber.

Senator Schumer said he strongly supports the ICC bill and hopes it will be passed by the Senate,

Although I strongly object to the ICC's bias against Israel and believe the institution needs to be significantly reformed, the current bill before us is poorly written and contains several major issues.

Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire to modify a bill that would allow America's allies and US companies to be exempt from sanctions related to the court.

“Senator Schumer stated that a bipartisan agreement is still very possible and we hope, and we urge our Republican colleagues to sit down with us to develop a bill that addresses the significant problems with the fairness of competition, without harming American companies and our allies,” Schumer said.

Senate Republicans pushed to pass legislation that had already cleared the House earlier this month, which would impose penalties on ICC officials, groups, and individuals who cooperate with the court, in response to the ICC's pursuit of investigations into Israel for alleged war crimes.

Early this year, the court issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for allegedly employing hunger as a weapon of war during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where more than 40,000 people have lost their lives. The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas’s military leader, Mohammed Deif, for his role in a October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel – resulting in an estimated 1,200 fatalities and taking 250 people hostage.

Critics argue that the sanctions create a false equivalence between Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, EU, and others, and Israel's right to defend itself.

Most Democrats opposed the Republican push to penalize the court, arguing that the proposed bill's wording would hinder the U.S. or its allies from interacting with the court in efforts to prosecute war crimes and human rights abuses worldwide.

Senate Republican co-sponsor Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was the lead on this bill. Ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Shaheen, had hoped to work with Senator Cotton to finalize the language in the bill.

We share many of the concerns he expressed in drafting the bill, but I believe the bill is too broad and doesn't specifically address our distinct concerns regarding the International Criminal Court.

Updated at 3:18 p.m.

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