US Imposes New Sanctions on International Criminal Court, Vows to 'End the ICC'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that the United States has imposed further sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), declaring the US will "end the ICC" if its prosecution threats against Americans continue.

Rubio stated that the US is prohibiting additional transactions with the court because it has threatened to bring cases against American troops, border agents, and politicians. "For decades now, both Republicans and Democrats have rejected the idea that the International Criminal Court has any power to prosecute American citizens, to prosecute military servicemembers, or political leaders because America never joined the court," Rubio said in a statement.

"We don’t need that court. And we don’t want it," he added. "They want to prosecute Border Patrol agents that are protecting our nation’s borders, and they want to prosecute our elected leaders that are ensuring our national security." Rubio asserted that the court seeks more power at the expense of national sovereignty and that President Trump "will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans."

The US has consistently opposed the ICC's jurisdiction over its citizens. The United States refused to sign the Rome Statute that established the court in 2002, a stance shared by both Republican and Democratic administrations due to concerns about the court infringing on American sovereignty.

Rubio's announcement comes after he delivered a speech in Athens, Greece, urging Western nations to join the US in prioritizing national power over global bureaucratic bodies. He has previously called on US allies to assist in curbing the ICC's actions.

This is not the first time the US has sanctioned ICC officials. President Trump first imposed sanctions on Karim Khan, the ICC's chief prosecutor, in February 2025 after he threatened to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2020, under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US sanctioned two ICC prosecutors involved in an inquiry into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. Though these sanctions were reversed during the Biden administration, they were reimposed on more than a dozen ICC officials starting in June 2025 in an effort to halt the investigations.

Concerns have also been raised about the ICC potentially pursuing prosecutions against the former President Trump, members of his cabinet, or other US officials after a new administration takes office in January 2029.