US Senate Democrats stop bill to sanction ICC for prosecuting Israeli war crimes

Voting largely along party lines, US Senate Democrats voted to block the advancement of legislation to sanction the ICC.
3 min read
Washington, DC
29 January, 2025
Democrats voted to stop a Republican bill to sanction those connected with the ICC. [Brooke Anderson/TNA]

Voting largely along party lines, US Senate Democrats voted to block the advancement of legislation that would sanction those involved with the International Criminal Court for prosecuting Israeli leaders for war crimes.

This comes just days into the second term of Donald Trump, who campaigned on hawkish policies towards Palestinians, including advocating for an 'ethnic cleansing' plan to relocate them to Jordan and Egypt, and threatening to deport pro-Palestinian protesters from the US.

The final vote was 54-45, falling short of the 60 votes needed for the bill to advance.

John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote in support of advancing the bill. Following the vote, he wrote on social media, "Deeply disappointed by the outcome of the ICC sanctions bill."  

He added, "My vote follows Israel—not the ICC that equivocated the democratically elected leader of our special ally to the terrorists and rapists of Hamas."

Earlier this month, prior to Trump's inauguration, a similar bill gained far more traction among House Democrats. 

It is believed that this saw a strong opposition from Democrats due to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who described the bill, prior to the vote, as "poorly drafted and deeply troublesome" and said that the Republicans had refused to make small changes to attract Democratic support.

In the days leading up to the vote, it was unclear if the Democrats would show a united front. It seemed to be their resistance to any changes that brought the party together. 

Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had reportedly been asked Republicans to exclude from sanctions US tech companies and other entities that do business with the ICC.   
In a joint statement, several moderate-leaning Democratic senators expressed disappointment at the broad reach of the bill.

"While we are eager to support a bill that would swiftly sanction those at the ICC responsible for its anti-Israel actions, in taking up the House bill today, Senate Republicans took a flawed, partisan approach," their statement read. 

They added, "Despite our efforts, the bill’s sponsors did not allow us to make this bill stronger and more targeted. This is why we made the difficult decision to vote against a procedural motion on their bill, after serious consideration of the far-reaching, unintended consequences it would have."

Meanwhile, Republican leaders accused Democrats of abandoning Israel if they opposed the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota suggested that if a bill to sanction those involved with the ICC didn't pass, then this could potentially make US soldiers vulnerable to ICC prosecution.

"While the ICC is targeting Israeli leaders today, it could easily set its sights on Americans – and American soldiers in particular – tomorrow," he said prior to the vote.

MENA
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