President Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 authorizing financial sanctions and visa bans on ICC officials involved in investigations of the US or its allies.
The ICC was established by the 1998 Rome Statute and now has 125 member states; the United States, Russia, China, and Israel are not parties.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza.
ICC President Tomoko Akane told the UN General Assembly in December 2024 that US sanctions threaten to 'rapidly undermine' the court's operations.
The US Senate rejected ratification of the Rome Statute, and President Clinton's 2000 signature was effectively withdrawn by the Bush administration in 2002.