Senate Spars Over Sanctioning ICC

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is at an impasse on how to punish the International Criminal Court for issuing potential arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Punchbowl News reported.

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the top Republican on the committee, refused to take up any legislation or nominations until Democrats agree to move forward on a bill sanctioning the ICC, according to the report.

The GOP said it believes Democrats are trying to give political cover to the White House, which opposes the sanctions, Punchbowl News reported. A bill sanctioning the ICC already passed the House with bipartisan support.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair, said Republicans are engaging in political maneuvering.

"Defending Israel from this flawed and biased prosecution deserves the same united support we share for the entire U.S.-Israel relationship," Cardin told Punchbowl News. "Political maneuvering by Republicans have made a bipartisan bill more difficult, but I have continued talks with those Republicans who are genuinely interested in a bipartisan path forward."

Cardin said the House bill is divisive and partisan.

After Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declined to put the House bill up for a vote, Risch took to social media and said he looked forward to the committee "taking up the bipartisan ICC bill in our next business meeting."

Senate Democrats said the House bill doesn't represent bipartisan compromise, despite 42 House Democrats voting in favor, Punchbowl News reported.

Alex Nguyen, Schumer's spokesperson, compared Risch's strategy to the monthslong blockade of military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

"That doesn't work," Nguyen told Punchbowl News.

The ICC also said it was seeking arrest warrants against Hamas for its role in the war. President Joe Biden has criticized the ICC for equating Israel, a U.S. ally, with Hamas, a terrorist organization.

The legislation would apply sweeping economic sanctions and visa restrictions to individuals and judges associated with the ICC, including their family members.