On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC), which last November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among other leaders.
NEW: “I, Donald J. Trump, POTUS, find that the International Criminal Court…has engaged in illegitimate & baseless actions targeting America & our close ally Israel… The U.S. will impose tangible & significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions.” pic.twitter.com/f7uva6FeIA
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) February 6, 2025
As the order begins by referencing in part, the ICC:
...has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel. The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war. The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest. This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government and our allies, including Israel...
Trump's order even mentioned that "[t]he United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction," and added that we will also "impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members, as their entry into our Nation would be detrimental to the interests of the United States."
Before listing out various sections of the order, Trump also detailed how the ICC is impacting national security and foreign policy, and Trump is thus declaring a national emergency. "I therefore determine that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons, as defined in section 8(d) of this order, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to address that threat," the order mentioned.
Such executive action comes after a bill doing just that passed the House, but failed to pass the Senate last week, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) convinced virtually all of his fellow Democrats to tank the bill. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) who sponsored the bill, mentioned as much while thanking Trump for acting on the matter.
It's unfortunate that Chuck Schumer decided to protect the ICC from sanctions as this kangaroo court targets U.S. soldiers and does Hamas's bidding.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 6, 2025
But I'm grateful that President Trump is acting.
Another promise made and kept by President Trump.
The executive order comes as Netanyahu was visiting Capitol Hill this week, which included a meeting with Trump. However, a meeting with Schumer, who last March called for Israel to hold new elections and oust Netanyahu, was not on the schedule. Still, photographs show the prime minister meeting with several senators from both sides of the aisle for this trip, including Schumer.
Reporting from Jewish Insider, which included such a photograph of a Thursday meeting in their article, mentioned that the Democratic leader was looking for a bipartisan bill:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Jewish Insider that Democrats “told him [Netanyahu] we want to pass it. Schumer said there exists a compromise proposal that will keep the bill “as tough as ever” on the anti-Israel actions of the court “but won’t sanction American companies or other countries that have nothing to do with Israel.”
Asked if Netanyahu was supportive of such a compromise, Schumer said that “the ambassador [Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter] certainly was. The ambassador said he wants a bipartisan compromise.”
Schumer and the Democrats' vote against the bill was in response to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that they took issue with, which also resulted in 22 Democrats voting against now Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy in a protest vote. All but one Democrat--Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania--went along with Schumer, including those new senators who voted for the bill when they were in the House, including Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member