Trump has already sanctioned the International Criminal Court once, but a new report says the White House is preparing a far bigger move

White House is reportedly preparing sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court. According to The Wall Street Journal, the court would be barred from carrying out transactions in U.S. dollars.

The administration would stop most dealings with the ICC after a grace period of about six months, the Journal reported. The newspaper said that step could potentially cripple the court and cut it off from the global financial system.

The report said it remains unclear when officials will make a final decision or when any sanctions would take effect. It added that a decision could come as early as this week.

Rubio said the court poses an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty

That Journal account arrived two months after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he intended to “dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.” The push to dismantle the ICC has drawn praise from allies, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The ICC poses an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty – it claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America’s national interest,” Rubio said in July, according to Mediaite.

“Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC’s ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans. The ICC previously opened an investigation into U.S. servicemen and intelligence officers and has since refused to close these cases,” he added.

Trump already moved against the court after he returned to office in 2025, imposing sanctions over what he described as the ICC engaging “in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

Neither the United States nor Israel has ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that creates membership in the ICC. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and claimed he bears “criminal responsibility” for the Gaza War.

Trump has repeatedly defended Netanyahu since that warrant and said the Israeli leader will not be arrested while he is president, a stance that contrasts with local officials like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who called Netanyahu a war criminal but admitted he had no authority to arrest him. In July, Trump said Rubio’s effort against the ICC was aimed at helping Netanyahu rather than protecting Trump himself.

“[Rubio] is not trying to defend me. He’s trying to defend Bibi and various other people,” Trump said. “But there are many people that shouldn’t be looked at that way. But there is no indication that I’m one of them at this moment.”