WASHINGTON, D.C. — The US Congress bill, which aims to punish the boycott of a US-friendly country, faces opposition from President Donald Trump’s allies over concerns about free speech and puts its passage at risk.
A House vote on the proposal previously scheduled for Monday has been cancelled, according to Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green.
Trump’s Republicans have been leading legislative efforts to crack down on Israeli boycotts for the past few days, but several conservatives close to the US president have opposed a bill called the International Agency for Government (IGO) anti-boycott Act.
“It’s my job to protect the American rights to buy or boycott people chosen without severe fines and without imprisonment,” Green said in a social media post Monday.
“But what I don’t understand is why we are voting for bills on behalf of other countries, not the president’s executive order for our country.”
Prominent right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk said the bill should not be passed.
“In America, you are allowed to hold different opinions. You are allowed to protest against it,” Kirk wrote to X on Sunday. “We have allowed people who hate America to move here from overseas, but the right to speak freely is the birthright of all Americans.”
Former Trump advisor and influential right-wing media personality Steve Bannon supports Kirk and Green’s comments, writing in statements on social media platforms GetTR, “Fact Check: True” and “Agreement.”
IGO Anti-Boycott Method
The proposed law was introduced in January by the pro-Israel Hawks in Congress, Republican Mike Lawler and Democrat Josh Gottimer, and co-hosted by 22 other lawmakers from both.
The bill would expand the 2018 law banning mandatory boycotts imposed by foreign governments to include international government organizations (IGOs).
The original law prohibits boycotting countries that are friendly to the United States based on a “consensus, requirement or request on behalf of” another country. They will pose a maximum of $1 million and a prison fine of 20 years for violations.
To expand the law, it will expand the IGOS risk that will be punished by US individuals and businesses that boycott companies that the UN lists as having illegal settlements in the West Bank in illegal Israeli colonies.
The bill itself does not explicitly mention Israel, but its drafters say it targets the UN and the boycott, sale and sanctions (BDS) movement.
“The change is targeting harmful and inherently anti-Semitic BDS efforts at IGOS, such as the United Nations, by expanding protections already extended due to foreign-incited boycotts,” the Lawler office said in January.
For years, states and federal governments have passed anti-BDS laws, warnings about violations of the right to free speech guaranteed by the first amendment to the US Constitution.
Many legal cases challenged these laws, with some judges finding them unconstitutional, while others supported them.
Rights groups and Palestinian rights advocates argue that anti-boycott law aims to shut down debates over Israel and criminalize peaceful resistance to violations of international law.
Anti-BDS Repression
For many years, UN agencies and rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have accused Israel of crimes against humanity and crimes against humanity, including imposing apartheid on Palestinians.
But proponents of the anti-BDS law say the measure is designed to combat discrimination against Israel and regulate trade rather than speech.
While such laws face opposition primarily from progressive Democrats, the IGO anti-boycott law also created rage from right-wing politicians.
“Americans have the right to boycott and are punished for this free speech. I reject and lash out against anti-Semitism, but I cannot violate the First Amendment.”
I agree to @RepMTG.
I will also vote for this bill. https://t.co/yopga59xyc– Thomas Massie (@Repthomasmassie) May 4, 2025
The right-wing rejection of the Lawler-Gott-Tamer bill comes as the Trump administration continues to push for protests and protests against Israel, particularly against university campuses.
Since Trump took office, the US government has revoked visas for hundreds of students for their efforts against the Israeli war with Gaza.
Several students, including legal permanent residents, have been jailed for allegations of anti-Semitism and “spreading Hamas propaganda.”
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, has been in custody since March, and the only known claim against her co-authored calling the university to honor the student Senate’s call to sell from Israeli companies.
Trump has also threatened to freeze federal funding at several universities, including Harvard, and is facing Palestinian protests.
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