Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced further sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of the Trump administration’s “diplomatic campaign” against the intergovernmental organization.
Secretary Rubio’s announcement comes just hours after one of the tribunal’s former judges won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” Secretary Rubio said in a press statement. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC."
Former ICC Judge Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
On Oct. 9, 2026, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.”
"Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion,” the Nobel Institute said. “A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time."
President Trump Reacts To Peace Prize Loss
President Donald Trump reacted to the news, reposting a statement on Truth Social condemning the decision.
“Today the Nobel Committee shamed itself beyond repair and demeaned the once great Nobel Peace Prize by giving it to the [United Nations’] Navi Pillay,” the post said.
“President Trump gave us the Abraham Accords… He brought home the hostages when all seemed hopeless! He is making best efforts to end the Russia/Ukraine war, to stop Iran… These are the kinds of things the Nobel Peace Prize was intended to recognize.”
Trump's Long-Running Effort
Pillay’s win trumps the president’s long-running effort to receive the award since first being nominated in 2018.
In early 2026, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado informally awarded President Trump the medal as she sought for the U.S. to promote democracy in Venezuela.
