Senate Democrats had a bit of a temper tantrum on Tuesday, with 22 voting against Sean Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation after a now rescinded memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put a temporary freeze on federal grants and loans. Duffy was still easily confirmed, though, and so that's not even the worst move that Senate Democrats went with. Under the direction of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), almost all of them voted to tank a bill sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC), which had issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others.
Ultimately, the vote was 54-45, with the bill coming up short of clearing the 60 vote threshold to proceed. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill, as did Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
The ICC is a corrupt international organization that targets Americans and our allies.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 28, 2025
Instead of standing up for our sovereignty and national security, Senate Democrats just voted to allow the ICC to continue to target U.S. troops.
Deeply disappointed by the outcome of the ICC sanctions bill.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) January 28, 2025
My vote follows Israel—not the ICC that equivocated the democratically elected leader of our special ally to the terrorists and rapists of Hamas. https://t.co/ziqMAhNkWs
🚨BREAKING: Senate Democrats, led by Schumer, have blocked legislation imposing sanctions on the ICC due to its illegitimate prosecution of Americans and their allies.
— Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) January 28, 2025
When Democrats show you who they are, believe them. pic.twitter.com/KlCLI5TibL
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in the Senate and by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) in the House, had previously passed the House on January 9 with a bipartisan vote of 243-140. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted "present."
As Cotton and others reminded over X, though, the ICC doesn't just target Israel, an ally of the United States, but also targets the United States.
On the morning that the vote took place, Fetterman had also posted about a disturbing consequence of the warrant against the prime minister. "Netanyahu skips Auschwitz ceremony amid ICC arrest concerns and criminal trial," read a headline from the Washington Examiner. Monday commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day, with it being 80 years since Auschwitz was liberated.
The headline is a stark reminder that the ICC must be held accountable for its conduct against Israel.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) January 28, 2025
I’m voting YES on today’s bill to sanction the ICC and respectfully encourage my colleagues to do the same. pic.twitter.com/fDwidD2E9R
The bill also passed the House during the 118th Congress, by another bipartisan vote, this time 247-155. Massie and Rep. Warren Davison (R-OH) both voted "present." The vote, specifically the support of two House Democrats who have since been elected to the Senate, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, is particularly relevant, given that this time they allowed themselves to be guided by Schumer rather than join Fetterman in voting for the bill.
Political commentator Mark Levin pointed out over X the change of support from Gallego and Slotkin, with Stop Antisemitism chiming in to tag Slotkin's official account to express their disappointment.
A shame to read @SenatorSlotkin
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) January 29, 2025
In late November 2023, close to two months after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the then majority leader took to the Senate floor to rightfully call out the radical left for their antisemitism. Months later, however, Schumer went for a much different tone, as he took to the Senate floor in March of last year to engage in foreign election interference, calling for Israelis to hold new elections to replace Netanyahu. Such comments were not well received, especially in Israel.
He's also tanked votes providing funding for Israel, and on the same day that he spoke at a "Stand with Israel" event. As majority leader, Schumer also refused to take up a bill from Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) that passed the House last May with bipartisan support to codify the definition of antisemitism.
Although Schumer has been ranting and raving over X about the OMB memo--which was blocked by the courts and has been rescinded to avoid confusion--as his distaste for President Donald Trump's nominees, he has not chimed in about the failure of the ICC bill.
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