On a Friday in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a Federalist Society speech to argue that American power should not bend to international law, and he aimed his sharpest rebuke at the International Criminal Court. The moment carries the weight of a larger question about who holds authority over a nation's conduct in a world of shared rules, and the speech arrived just weeks after a midterm defeat that has set speculation about his political future in motion. Rubio's stance continues a long American tension between sovereignty and multilateral justice, and what happens next depend
Rubio Attacks International Criminal Court in Federalist Society Speech, Signals Hard Line on Foreign Law
"Stop quoting laws to men with swords."
Mark
Rubio gave this speech to a conservative legal group. Why does the venue matter?
Mimi
The Federalist Society is a legal audience, so he was making an argument about law, not just policy. He said Americans never agreed to the ICC's authority. It's also a place Republican hopefuls sometimes visit.
Mark
And that ties into the 2028 talk?
Mimi
It feeds it. This was his first prepared speech since the November 3 midterm rout. He has firmly denied he'll campaign soon, though.
Luke
So the 2028 angle is speculation. The denial is on the record, and the speech doesn't settle anything.
Mark
What was the most striking line?
Mimi
The Pompey quote: "Stop quoting laws to men with swords." He suggested the US would respond with force if the court tried to enforce rulings against Americans.
Luke
"Suggested" is the careful word. The report doesn't describe any specific plan or action. It's rhetoric so far.
Mark
What's the court actually doing that's aimed at Americans?
Mimi
Rubio says it would prosecute US officials or service members. The report notes the ICC has an Afghanistan inquiry into US soldiers, but the court says it's deprioritized.
Luke
Right, so his claim about prosecution and the court's own description of that inquiry don't line up neatly. The report doesn't show a pending case against Americans.
Mark
And what happens next?
Mimi
The sanctions take effect in April unless supporters of the court reach an agreement with Washington. What such a deal would look like isn't described.
Luke
Which means the outcome is open, and nothing in the reporting says talks are underway.
Il Polso
- Rubio tells the Federalist Society the US will not submit to ICC authority, drawing a hard line against the court's reach.
- He warns Washington would respond with force if the court tried to enforce rulings against Americans, raising the stakes beyond diplomacy.
- Sanctions already imposed on ICC prosecutors and judges, tied to Israeli arrest warrants and an Afghanistan probe, have pitted Washington against nearly every NATO and EU state.
- Sanctions designed to choke the court's operations are set to take effect in April unless supporters strike an agreement with the United States.
- The speech lands amid 2028 speculation, so every confrontation is read as a possible campaign preview.
On a Friday in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a Federalist Society speech to argue that American power should not bend to international law, and he aimed his sharpest rebuke at the International Criminal Court. The moment carries the weight of a larger question about who holds authority over a nation's conduct in a world of shared rules, and the speech arrived just weeks after a midterm defeat that has set speculation about his political future in motion. Rubio's stance continues a long American tension between sovereignty and multilateral justice, and what happens next depends on whether the court's defenders can find a path to a deal before new sanctions take hold in April.
On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood before the Federalist Society in Washington and argued for a muscular American foreign policy, one not held back by international law. His harshest words were reserved for the International Criminal Court.
The speech was his first set of prepared remarks since Republicans lost badly in the November 3 midterms, and that timing has fueled talk that Rubio, who serves as both national security adviser and top diplomat, might leave those roles to run for president in 2028. He has firmly denied that a campaign is near. Still, the Federalist Society is a regular stop for Republican hopefuls, and Rubio has often tried to give intellectual cover to President Trump's "America First" approach.
He was blunt about the court. The United States, he said, would not submit to the authority of "radical judges or soulless global bureaucrats." He repeated his claim that the ICC could try American officials or service members, the same claim behind sanctions announced last month. Quoting the Roman general Pompey, he said that if the court tried to enforce its rulings against Americans, the answer would be: "Stop quoting laws to men with swords."
The court, founded in 2002 in the Netherlands, prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Washington has clashed with it over arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over an investigation into US soldiers in Afghanistan that the ICC says it has deprioritized. Nearly every EU and NATO member, apart from the United States and Turkey, belongs to the court and largely backs it.
The new sanctions aim to cripple the court's ability to function, and they take effect in April unless its supporters reach a deal with Washington. Rubio also defended the US-Israeli war against Iran as necessary to stop a nuclear weapon, and he set Iran's "expansionist" clerics against North Korea's Kim Jong Un. He has brushed off charges that the administration has broken international law, including in seizing Venezuela's then-president, Nicolas Maduro, and in striking drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The question now is whether the April deadline produces a deal or a deeper rupture.
On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood before the Federalist Society in Washington and made the case for a muscular American foreign policy, one not restrained by international law. The target of his sharpest words was the International Criminal Court.
The speech was his first set of prepared remarks since Republicans were routed in the midterm elections on November 3. That timing has sharpened speculation over whether Rubio, who serves as both national security adviser and the nation's top diplomat, might leave those posts to run for president in 2028. He has firmly denied reports that a campaign is coming soon. But the Federalist Society is an occasional stop for Republican hopefuls, and Rubio has at times sought to supply an intellectual justification for President Donald Trump's "America First" approach.
On the court, he was blunt. The United States, he said, would not "submit to the sterile vision of radical judges or soulless global bureaucrats." He repeated his claim that the ICC would try to prosecute US officials or service members, the same claim he used to justify sanctions against the court announced last month. "Americans have never agreed to submit to the ICC's authority," he said, adding that the court and its allies in the global bureaucracy had appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner of the international order.
He also suggested that Washington would answer with force if the court tried to enforce its rulings against Americans. Quoting the Roman general Pompey, he said the US response would be: "Stop quoting laws to men with swords."
The Netherlands-based court was founded in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Trump administration has long been hostile to it and has previously sanctioned its prosecutors and judges. Washington has denounced the court over arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over an investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, which the ICC says it has "deprioritized." Most member states back the court firmly. Its membership includes every EU country and every NATO member except the United States and Turkey.
The newest sanctions are designed to stifle the court's ability to operate. They take effect in April unless the court's supporters can reach an agreement with the United States to avert them.
Rubio also spoke about the US-Israeli war against Iran. Its goal, he said, was to prevent Tehran from ever developing a nuclear weapon, a task he called particularly urgent because the Islamic Republic's "radical Shia clerics" had an "expansionist mentality." He contrasted Iran with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, whom Trump has met three times. "I'm not excusing the terrible things that have happened there," Rubio said of North Korea. "I'm just saying he (Kim) is not expansionist. He's not trying to invade Japan or, you know, China or whatever."
Rubio has dismissed criticism that the administration has broken international law, including by seizing Venezuela's then-president, Nicolas Maduro, and by striking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that it says were carrying drugs. The speech put that dismissal into a broader argument. What to watch now is whether the ICC's supporters can strike a deal with Washington before the April deadline.
Citazioni salienti
Americans have never agreed to submit to the ICC's authority, but that court and its allies in the global bureaucracy have appointed themselves judge and jury and executioner of the international order.— Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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