The Senate will soon vote on legislation sanctioning the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Wednesday.

Thune confirmed his plans to bring up the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act for a vote “soon.” The legislation is expected to be introduced after the Senate finishes considering the Laken Riley Act, Republicans’ high-profile immigration bill that’s set to be the Senate’s first order of business. The Senate is slated to begin considering that bill on Friday. 

Speaking on the Senate floor about upcoming agenda items, Thune said that the upper chamber is “going to be taking a vote to support our ally Israel – something my friends across the aisle seem to struggle with from time to time.” He also referenced his pledge last year to move on ICC sanctions if they did not pass before the end of that Congress.

“After the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister in November, I called on the Democrat leader to bring up an ICC sanctions bill that had already passed the House – again with bipartisan support. The ICC’s rogue actions only enable the terrorists who seek to wipe Israel off the map – and they cannot be allowed to stand unchecked,” Thune said. 

“In November, I promised that if Leader Schumer wouldn’t bring the ICC sanctions bill to the floor, Republicans would. And we’ll soon fulfill that promise and have a vote to support our ally Israel,” he continued.

Thune said in a separate statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday that, “It is long overdue for the U.S. Senate to consider and pass sanctions legislation in response to the ICC’s outrageous and unlawful arrest warrants against Israeli officials. I promised this would be a priority in the 119th Congress, and am hopeful that this legislation will pass with bipartisan support.”

The top Senate Republican vowed in November, after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, that passing sanctions targeting the court and its officials would be a top priority, as did Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

While sanctions are next on the agenda, a source familiar with the situation noted that it is not clear how long it will take to pass the border security bill, so the ICC legislation could be impacted by post-Inauguration Day schedule — when Senate Republicans are hoping to quickly confirm key Cabinet nominees — and be delayed for an unclear period of time. Regardless, Thune maintained in his Wednesday remarks that the sanctions bill will be an early priority for the Senate.

The House is set to vote on and pass the ICC, reintroduced this week by Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Brian Mast (R-FL), before the end of the week.

The House bill, which passed the lower chamber in bipartisan fashion last June, also did not have any Democratic co-sponsors but ultimately received 42 Democratic votes and could receive additional Democratic support this week. The Senate bill had no Democratic co-sponsors last year but will likely receive some Democratic support on the floor. 

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told JI in a statement that the court “has unlawfully and unjustly targeted Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

“During the last Congress, Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer blocked this important bill that would sanction the ICC. Now, Senate Republicans are moving as quickly as we can to bring it to the floor for a vote. America must stand with Israel and hold the ICC accountable,” Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, continued. 

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the bill’s lead sponsor in the last Congress, is expected to reintroduce the sanctions package in the Senate sometime this or next week, at which point Thune will have the ability to start the process of bringing it to the floor.

“The ICC has gone totally rogue regarding Israel. I am certain President Trump will reimpose executive order sanctions against the court,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who spearheaded efforts to convince the outgoing Biden administration and Congressional Democrats to get on board with sanctions, told JI. “However, the best solution is for Congress to impose legislative sanctions — that carry the full force of law — against the ICC.”

Graham praised Thune for his plans to move forward with the legislation so soon in the new congressional session.

“If we do not stand up to the ICC now for what they are doing to Israel, we are next,” Graham said.

Asked about the bill in the Capitol on Tuesday evening, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told JI that she and Democratic colleagues were considering next steps, including possibly a bipartisan package. “We are looking at whether there’s an opportunity to offer an alternative,” Shaheen said.

The legislation will need 60 votes, the filibuster threshold, to pass the upper chamber. Republicans will control the Senate by a 53-47 vote come Inauguration Day, but their majority currently stands at 52-47 because Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R-WV) delayed his swearing-in until after next Monday, Jan. 13, when his successor as governor of West Virginia is sworn in. 

It is unclear if his late arrival to the Capitol will cause him to miss the vote, which has not yet been scheduled. Senate Republicans’ ranks will temporarily shrink again after the inauguration, with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance leaving the Senate and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) likely to be confirmed as secretary of state as soon as Inauguration Day.

After passing the House last year, the ICC bill was blocked by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) amid opposition from the Biden administration and other Democrats. 

Cardin, who retired from the Senate earlier this month, was involved in efforts to reach a bipartisan deal last year, as frustration lingered among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over a belief that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had misrepresented the status of his work to lawmakers.

Democrats and Republicans who spoke to Khan in the weeks leading up to his requests for warrants against Israeli officials said Khan suggested that he was not planning to apply for them imminently, leading to them feeling blindsided when Khan announced the warrant requests on CNN in a prerecorded interview, according to three senators in communication with him at the time.

Those attempts at a deal fell apart despite the bipartisan exasperation toward Khan and opposition to the warrants themselves over jurisdictional concerns. (Under the ICC’s complementarity principle, it is supposed to respect local laws and courts unless they are unwilling or unable to prosecute offenses.)

Subsequent attempts at negotiations were unsuccessful because Republicans expected they’d be able to pass or implement via executive order a more stringent sanctions package with control of both chambers and the White House.

Jewish Insider’s senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod contributed reporting.