Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is slated to become Senate majority leader when Republicans take control of the chamber in January, said Nov. 17 that the Senate should pass legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials if the ICC doesn't stop pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., announced Nov. 18 that he will vote for legislation to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel.
Legislation offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to block the sale of certain offensive U.S. weapons to Israel will be considered on the Senate floor the week of Nov. 18, the lawmaker said Nov. 13.
A new Government Accountability Office report found that 73% of firearms recovered from the Caribbean and traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from 2018 to 2022 could be sourced back to the U.S., underscoring the need to curb illegal gun exports to the region, a group of congressional Democrats said Nov. 14.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul., R-Texas, will not seek to lead the panel for another two-year term, a spokesperson said Nov. 15. McCaul had intended to request a waiver from term limits for House Republican committee leaders but has decided not to do so out of respect for his party's rules, the spokesperson said. As chairman, McCaul has advocated for tightening export controls on China, increasing enforcement of Iran sanctions and speeding up delivery of weapons to Israel. In the waning days of the current Congress, McCaul has been seeking to pass legislation restricting outbound investment in China (see 2410070008).
The U.N. Security Council, which plans to draft a resolution this month on Sudan’s civil war, should “enforce accountability for member states violating” the arms embargo for Sudan’s Darfur region, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Nov. 14.
The incoming Trump administration likely will end the Biden administration’s temporary pause on pending decisions for liquefied natural gas exports, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said late Nov. 13.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, introduced a bill Nov. 13 that would authorize the president to sanction foreign individuals and companies that are most responsible for exacerbating climate change and deforestation.
More than 80 House and Senate Democrats urged the Biden administration to sanction two Israeli officials -- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir -- for spurring destabilizing activity in the West Bank, including settler violence against Palestinians and “illegal and dangerous” settlement expansion.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement Nov. 13 that she expects to become the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee in the next Congress, which begins in January.