Last week, the House passed H.R.8282, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC). Last month, the ICC announced it was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Although the White House did a "180 turn" and ultimately opposed the bill, 42 Democrats still supported the bill. Now in the Democratically-controlled Senate, the bill faces an uphill battle, with Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, being forced to turn to noteworthy measures. In this case, he's vowed to withhold consent to legislation or nominations until the bill is taken up.
As Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday morning:
This is news: Sen. Jim Risch (Idaho), the committee’s top Republican, is refusing to give his consent for the panel to take up any legislation or nominations until Democrats agree to move forward on an ICC bill — either in committee or on the floor.
Republicans say Democrats aren’t engaging in a serious way on a bipartisan ICC bill and are trying to give political cover to the White House, which opposes sanctions. Republicans also point to the House’s passage of an ICC sanctions bill that dozens of Democrats supported as another reason to press the issue.
Risch’s ultimatum is significant because the committee operates largely on comity. For instance, the panel’s business meetings usually aren’t scheduled until both sides sign off on the agenda. Democrats see Risch’s move as another example of Republicans trying to use Israel as a political weapon.
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When things really blew up: Schumer’s statement, coupled with the fact that the House bill received some Democratic support, caused Risch to tweet the following from the committee’s X account:
The tweet set off a firestorm inside the committee. Senate Democratic leaders maintained that the House-passed bill doesn’t represent a bipartisan compromise.
Risch’s team then told Cardin’s staff that the Idaho Republican wouldn’t sign off on a committee-level business meeting until there’s a definitive path forward on ICC legislation.
That comment about a "180 turn" the White House did came from House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) last week, as the bill was being debated. He and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) had looked to make this a bipartisan effort, a move he said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD) was looking to do as well. Cardin even expressed being "disappointed," McCaul said.
Meeks was not one of the 42 Democrats voting in favor of the bill, though, and now Cardin is singing a different tune as he goes after Republicans and their tactics.
"Failing to act here in the Congress, would make us complicit with the ICC’s illegitimate actions. We must not stay silent. We must stand with our allies."
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) June 4, 2024
WATCH as CHM @RepMcCaul delivers remarks on the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act" ⬇️https://t.co/dwuUY56FjR pic.twitter.com/RA9HONa77T
"Defending Israel from this flawed and biased prosecution deserves the same united support we share for the entire U.S.-Israel relationship. 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," said Cardin in a statement included by Punchbowl.
He's also lamented to Punchbowl how it was "deeply disappointing to see House Republicans push a divisive partisan bill… rather than pursuing a sensible, bipartisan approach."
It's looking very likely that the White House is doing what it can to avoid having that bill reach President Joe Biden's desk, and that Cardin is looking to protect his fellow Democrats from having to take such a vote. This latest fight thus further reflects how supporting Israel since the October 7 terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas against our ally in the Middle East has thrown Democrats into disarray.
Further, as Spencer highlighted earlier this week, it looks like George Clooney actually got involved to tell the Biden White House to back off from supporting sanctions, and now the Hollywood actor is sending fundraising emails and attending events for Biden's reelection campaign.
Mark Levin took note of the move and highlighted how "Senate Democrats obstructing ICC sanctions bill at Biden’s direction."
Senate Democrats obstructing ICC sanctions bill at Biden’s direction. Democrats refuse to even allow a vote. https://t.co/AQmhIyRsrx
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 11, 2024
When news of the announced arrest warrants came in, Biden released a short statement of three measly sentences declaring it to be "outrageous" There had been chatter for weeks that such warrants could come, with members from both sides of the aisle urging the president to act. Risch introduced the companion bill in the Senate along with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and plenty of other Republican cosponsors, including those on the Foreign Relations Committee and in leadership, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also signed on.
The Biden administration, likely to appease the far-left part of the party in an election year, has become increasingly anti-Israel overall. And yet Democrats still dare to lament situation they've found themselves in.
As Roy reminded from the House floor last Tuesday when he spoke in support of the bill, it's not merely about how the ICC took "unprecedented" action in going against Israel. "At stake right now is the critically important issue of ensuring we protect America's interest," he declared. Roy and McCaul also both reminded from the House floor how the United States and Israel are not even members of the ICC. Further, such a case against Israel is a complete farce.
Congress must protect America's interests.
— House Rules Committee (@RulesReps) June 4, 2024
The ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants for a democratic ally's sitting leadership threatens those interests.
H.R. 8282 would allow our nation to sanction this rogue court whenever they attempt to harass us or an allied state. pic.twitter.com/nTzNt3YFJ7
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