Rubio Comments On ICC Comment
The second Trump administration has made one thing unmistakably clear: America is back, and it’s not taking orders from unelected international elites. This week’s blistering response to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a defining moment, not just for American foreign policy, but for how this administration views sovereignty, strength, and its unwavering support for Israel.
The ICC’s move to target Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — with arrest warrants over alleged “war crimes” was more than provocative.
It was an overt act of political theater disguised as justice. Under the Biden administration, these kinds of international temper tantrums were met with carefully-worded statements and wringing hands. Not anymore.
The @IntlCrimCourt’s baseless and politicized targeting of America and our close ally Israel must end. Today, I have sanctioned four ICC judges for infringing on U.S. and Israeli sovereignty – two who authorized the ICC’s baseless investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 5, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t mince words. Following up on existing sanctions against ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who now finds himself locked out of his own bank accounts and email, Rubio announced new sanctions against four ICC judges: Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda), Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza (Peru), Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou (Benin), and Beti Hohler (Slovenia). The charges? Politicized attacks on U.S. military personnel and Israeli leadership — the kind of posturing that the Trump administration has zero patience for.
Rubio’s message was direct: “The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies. This dangerous assertion… infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.” No hedging, no hiding behind the usual internationalist doublespeak.
And the ICC’s response? A predictably breathless statement accusing the U.S. of undermining “accountability” and the “rule of law.” That line might carry weight in polite diplomatic circles, but in the real world, this is about national interest — and Team Trump isn’t in the business of apologizing to judges who answer to 125 states with zero jurisdiction over U.S. citizens.
This is more than a foreign policy correction. It's a full-blown course reversal from the Obama-Biden era, where America bowed to global institutions and treated sovereignty like an outdated concept. The Trump administration, in contrast, is saying with unflinching clarity: America answers to the Constitution, not to judges from Benin or bureaucrats in The Hague.
It’s also a warning shot to any foreign entity considering more of the same. As Rubio rightly pointed out, these ICC actions don’t just attack Israel — they target the very idea that Western democracies have the right to defend themselves. These aren’t mere courtroom theatrics; they’re part of a broader campaign to rewrite history and criminalize the fight against terror.