A bipartisan deal on legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court over its targeting of Israeli officials remains elusive ahead of a 2:15 p.m. Senate vote on advancing the bill.
All 53 Republicans are expected to back the measure, and GOP leaders believe there are enough Democrats who would vote to advance it to overcome a filibuster. But Democratic leaders want to avoid splitting the party on such a contentious issue and are aiming to clinch an agreement before the first procedural vote this afternoon. If there’s no deal and enough Democrats side with their leadership, the bill won’t move forward in its current form.
As we scooped, Democrats believe the GOP-drafted measure is too broad and would impose sanctions on U.S. tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Meta. Representatives from the three companies got on a conference call with the negotiators last night, we’re told.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gathered after votes Monday to get an update from the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who told reporters she was still negotiating with Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the bill’s chief sponsor.
A senior GOP aide said the negotiations are intended to “clarify” the bill’s language, but said Senate Republicans “are united and won’t accept anything that weakens the bill.” The aide also disputed the notion that U.S. companies could be targeted and insisted that the companies believe they can “firewall” themselves from sanctions.
