2024: Schweikert Voted To Require The Defense Department To Review Whether South Africa Engaged In Activities That Undermine United States National Security And Foreign Policy Interests. In June 2024, Schweikert voted for , according to Congressional Quarterly, "amendment no. 228 that would require the president, in consultation with the secretaries of State and Defense, to certify to the congressional foreign issues committees and release publicly an unclassified determination stating whether South Africa has engaged in activities that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. It also would require a review of the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and South Africa." The vote was on the amendment. The underlying legislation was the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The House adopted the amendment by a vote of 272 to 144. [House Vote 277, 6/14/24; Congressional Quarterly, 6/14/24; Congressional Actions, H.Amdt.996; Congressional Actions, H.R. 8070]
- The Call For Review Came After South Africa Brought A Case To The International Court Of Justice Accusing Israel Of Genocide And Stemmed From Separate Stand-Alone Legislation. According to the Middle East Eye, "Congressmen John James and Jared Moskowitz introduced a bill last week in the US House of Representatives that seeks to undergo a review of the bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa. The US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act would require a full review of the bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa, 'given South Africa's recent positioning and coordination with America's adversaries.' [...] The bill alleges that South Africa has a history of siding with 'malign actors' and that its support for Hamas goes back to 1994, when the African National Congress first came to power, because South Africa has been 'consistently accusing Israel of practicing apartheid'. South Africa has accused Israel of genocide and in January took it to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which held hearings in response to the accusation." [Middle East Eye, 2/12/24]