General
Friday Briefing
U.S. sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
President Trump’s executive order said the International Criminal Court had “abused its power” by issuing arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times
Trump ordered sanctions on the I.C.C.
President Trump signed an order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court yesterday, promising “tangible and significant consequences” for people who worked on investigations that he said threatened American and Israeli national security.
The court faced backlash from the U.S. and Israel in November after issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity as they carried out Israel’s war in Gaza.
Trump said the court’s actions against Israel and preliminary investigations involving the United States had “set a dangerous precedent.” He ordered sanctions that could block purchases of property and assets and bar I.C.C. officials and their immediate family members from entering the U.S. Neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the court’s jurisdiction.
Background: The top Democratin the Senate, Chuck Schumer, signaled support for the order, saying the court was “biased against Israel.” Democrats recently blocked a Senate bill that would have imposed sanctions on officials affiliated with the court. Many argued that the legislation was too broad and could apply to American companies working with the court.
Trump’s Gaza plan: The president doubled down yesterday on his proposal that the U.S. take over the enclave, displacing Palestinians. Israel’s defense minister said he had ordered the military to draft a plan for letting Gazans voluntarily leave. Trump’s plan would probably sound the death knell for the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
More on the Trump administration
For the second time this week, a judge issued an injunction to block Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants.
A judge temporarily barred the government from imposing a deadline on federal workers to resign. More than 40,000 employees have accepted the program, the White House said.
The Trump administration plans to retain only about 290 of the more than 10,000 employees worldwide at the U.S.AI.D.
The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.
Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency were told that some of them could soon be placed on administrative leave, four people familiar with the matter said.
For Europe’s right, the unpredictable Trump may be as much an adversary as an ally.
Trump’s funding freeze won’t apply to a U.S. contractor supporting the police inside a Syrian camp that holds ISIS members and their families.
Thousands protested across the U.S. against Trump, part of a grass-roots effort to kick off a national movement.
Track what Trump has done since he took office.
