‘The House of Representatives will not tolerate rogue actors who circumvent international law,’ Mike Johnson says
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its efforts to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The measure garnered support from 243 total members, including virtually all GOP lawmakers who voted and 45 Democrats. The 140 who opposed the bill were all Democrats.
The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act quickly emerged as a top priority for the Republican-controlled House and Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) as Congress reconvened this week. Its swift passage marks an early pro-Israel win for the incoming Trump administration, which pledged in recent weeks to prioritize a series of punitive measures sanctioning the ICC and its top prosecutor, Karim Khan. Newly elected congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D., N.H.), who is married to Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan, opposed the legislation.
The bill first passed the House in June with support from Republicans and 42 Democrats. But the Senate—under then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.)—was not given a chance to vote on the bill. This time around, however, the upper chamber is expected to hold a vote imminently under Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.). With Republicans in control of 53 Senate seats, 7 Democrats would need to back the bill to clear the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold.
“Today, on a bipartisan basis, the House voted to impose sanctions on ICC officials and put the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, back in his place,” Johnson said in a statement provided to the Washington Free Beacon shortly after the bill passed. “The House of Representatives will not tolerate rogue actors who circumvent international law in an effort to attack Israel and threaten America.”
Johnson said he expects the bill to quickly make “its way through the Senate and to President Trump’s desk” for approval.
The legislation will apply sanctions on every ICC judge and prosecutor who played a role in authorizing the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. The court charged both leaders with “crimes against humanity and war crimes” in November, alleging that Israel’s defensive war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is fueling a genocide.
While the incoming Trump administration could sanction the court through executive orders, a subsequent administration could revoke them. The congressional measure ensures the sanctions are locked in place and prevents a future president from waiving them without an act of Congress.
The incoming White House is already crafting a series of executive orders that would complement the House measure, including “devastating” sanctions on individual ICC prosecutors, judges, and the institution at large. Some of these orders could be unveiled as soon as Jan. 21, according to Israeli reports.
Rep. Brian Mast (R., Fla.), the newly elected chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the sanctions bill would erode the ICC’s international legitimacy and potentially force it into revoking the arrest warrants.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the Prime Minister of our great ally Israel, who is not only responding to an enemy which conducted a genocide, killing as many men, women, and children as possible, even beheading some of them on Oct. 7, 2024,” Mast said in a speech on the House floor.
“What the ICC is doing, with their arrest warrants, is legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes in order to do something,” Mast said. “In order to stop the overwhelming success of Israeli military operations.”
During the floor debate session, Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) rose several times to oppose the legislation, describing it as a “lousy bill.”
“There is no international right to vengeance, and what we’re seeing in Gaza is vengeance,” McGovern said, claiming the bill is overly broad and will even “sanction the janitors at the ICC.”
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