American Voters Broadly Support ICC Sanctions Under Senate Consideration, Poll Finds

42 percent of registered voters strongly support the sanctions, compared with 14 percent who strongly oppose

A majority of American voters support congressional efforts to sanction the International Criminal Court, a new poll shows.

The poll, which conservative firm GrayHouse conducted last week, surveyed 800 registered voters. When asked if they would back congressional efforts to protect “American soldiers from potential International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations by imposing sanctions,” 55 percent of respondents expressed support for the move, with 42 percent expressing strong support. Just 28 percent said they opposed such sanctions.

A plurality of voters also backed ICC sanctions leveled “in order to protect Israel from what some see as unfair ICC investigations.” In that case, 46 percent of respondents expressed support for the sanctions, compared with 35 percent who expressed opposition.

The findings come as Congress eyes a vote to impose wide-ranging sanctions on the ICC and its top prosecutor, Karim Khan. The House overwhelmingly passed an ICC sanctions bill after reconvening earlier this month, establishing it as a top policy priority for the GOP-controlled body. The measure is now working its way through the Senate, where it has staunch Republican support but could fall short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass.

Broad support from the American public could help sway undecided Democratic senators to back the legislation, even though their liberal base largely opposes the effort. Around 40 percent of the Democratic voters polled said they “strongly oppose” sanctions on the ICC, though 48 percent of registered Independents said otherwise, according to the poll.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in remarks delivered during his Senate confirmation hearing, said the ICC’s aggressive prosecution of Israel spells trouble for the United States, even though neither country is a member of the court or recognizes its jurisdiction.

“The ICC has done tremendous damage to its global credibility,” Rubio said. “This is a test run. This is a trial run to see, can we go after a head of state from a nation that’s not a member. If we can go after them and get it done with regards to Israel, they will apply that to the United States at some point.”

The GrayHouse poll also found that voters are largely aware of the ICC and its actions, suggesting that the American public is closely following as Congress pursues the sanctions bill. Roughly 50 percent of poll respondents said they have a “great deal” or “some” knowledge of the ICC.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has promised to bolster any legislation with a bevy of executive orders that would impose a range of additional sanctions on the ICC and its members.

In the Senate, it remains unclear just how many Democrats will vote in favor of the sanctions bill. Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) has tagged the measure as an early priority, which is expected to hit the Senate floor next week

Freshman senator Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.) supported ICC sanctions as a House member and told Jewish Insider earlier this month that she tends “to vote consistently” on legislation.

A spokesman for Sen. Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.) told the publication that Rosen broadly supports punitive measures on the ICC.