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The Trump administration is launching a “whole-of-government” campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Back in 2002, the ICC was established to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious crimes. The US has never been a member and has objected for decades to the court’s power to prosecute nationals of non-member states for crimes committed on member states’ territory, though it has worked with the court plenty of times over the years. Trump’s beef goes back to his first term, when the ICC opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, including possible abuses by US troops, and Trump sanctioned court officials in response. When Biden came in, he lifted those sanctions while keeping US opposition to the probe. The fight reignited when the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza, prompting Trump to declare a “national emergency” six weeks into his second term and sanction the chief prosecutor, his deputies, and six judges. The administration has since expanded sanctions to UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese and Palestinian human rights groups collecting evidence of possible Israeli war crimes. Notably, three ICC judges sued the administration in the Southern District of New York just weeks ago, arguing the sanctions are unlawful and retaliatory.

What’s going on now: The State Department announced the campaign Monday with a news release, a video statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a Rubio op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, promising to “systematically disable” the court’s ability to operate.

“As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,” Rubio said in the video, claiming Border Patrol agents, Marines, and counterterrorism prosecutors could face prosecution. “If they believe they can deprive us of our sovereignty, we will teach them the full meaning of American resolve.”

In the op-ed, Rubio described the court as “backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments united by their enmity toward the U.S.” and wrote, “Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC—brick by brick, if necessary.”

The plan centers on diplomatic pressure and punishment. Options under consideration include banning ICC officials from traveling to the US, yanking visas, and piling more sanctions on the court and groups tied to it. A former senior US sanctions official told the Guardian it’s rumored the administration may sanction the tribunal as a whole, which would bar Americans from working with the court and expose companies and banks to penalties for doing business with it.

Top officials including Rubio, the deputy secretary, and US ambassadors are calling foreign counterparts to pressure ICC member countries to withdraw and cut off financial support. A State Department official said nations that “refuse to reject the ICC’s false authority while relying on US assistance are likely to come under increased scrutiny,” adding: “We will watch with interest which nations join ranks with us against this threat.”

Critics say the whole framing is backwards. Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, noted the ICC “is not claiming jurisdiction over conduct in the United States” and accused Rubio of “dressing up his quest for impunity for American war crimes under the label of national sovereignty,” adding, “Trump wants to be able to commit war crimes on the territory of countries that have accepted the court’s jurisdiction – that’s what this is about.”