Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday escalated the Trump administration’s campaign against the International Criminal Court by sanctioning the institution itself, not only individual judges and prosecutors. The order blocks American companies from providing banking, software or other services to the court, a step U.S. officials said was meant to starve the ICC of the infrastructure it needs to operate.
What changed on Thursday
Rubio told reporters the measures defend U.S. sovereignty against what he called a rogue tribunal that seeks to prosecute Americans. President Donald Trump, he said, would not allow the court to pursue U.S. personnel. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio said, according to a State Department readout and remarks carried by U.S. broadcasters.
The administration had already designated 17 ICC judges and officials. Thursday’s action targets the court as a legal entity, which lawyers and diplomats in The Hague said could make it harder for the ICC to pay staff, hold accounts or renew commercial contracts with U.S. vendors.
Washington built in a six-month grace period before some penalties take full effect. Rubio said member states that fund the court could keep paying during that window while they try to negotiate a solution to U.S. grievances. He also urged NATO allies that are ICC members, including the United Kingdom, to “rein in” the institution.
Nobel timing and court pushback
The announcement landed only hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was named a co-recipient of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for work on international law and accountability. Pillay had served on the court’s bench and later led United Nations human-rights inquiries; the Nobel committee cited her efforts to advance peace through legal norms.
The ICC called the U.S. sanctions an assault on the rule of law and said it would not be deterred. “History will judge this moment,” the court said in a statement, arguing that no one should be punished for pursuing justice for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the decision was a serious blow to collective efforts at international criminal justice. The Netherlands, which hosts the court in The Hague, warned through Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen that the sanctions would seriously affect the ICC’s ability to function.
Why Washington and allies diverge
The United States never joined the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2002. The Trump administration has focused on two irritants: a now-closed inquiry into U.S. conduct in Afghanistan and arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the Gaza war. Netanyahu welcomed the sanctions on Friday, calling the ICC a political body that threatens democracies.
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement reaffirming “continued and unwavering support” for the court. They said they regretted and strongly disagreed with the U.S. move while praising ICC staff for pursuing the gravest international crimes.
Legal scholars said the institutional designation marks the deepest rupture in the court’s 24-year history. Unlike prior steps that named individuals, Thursday’s order reaches vendors and banks that keep the ICC’s daily operations running. What happens after the six-month interval depends on whether member states can broker concessions Washington will accept—or whether the court must restructure its contracts outside U.S. jurisdiction.