US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee Passes First Round of Anti-SA Bill

SUMMARY

By Peter Fabricius

23 Jul 2025

The Bill calls for a review of US-SA relations and for sanctions against the South African government and ANC leaders.

A Bill that would require the Trump administration to conduct a full review of US-South Africa relations and to identify South African government and ANC leaders eligible for sanctions, passed the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee this week.

The committee passed the “US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025” by a vote of 34-16, with 28 Republicans and six Democrats supporting it and only Democrats opposing. It will now go to the full House of Representatives, where observers believe it will pass. 

It envisages SA government and ANC leaders being sanctioned under America’s Global Magnitsky Act, which imposes financial and visa restrictions on individuals deemed guilty of human rights abuses or corruption. 

The Bill would also require the US Administration to determine if South Africa has undermined US national security or foreign policy interests. 

‘Aligning with America’s adversaries’

The Bill cites a long list of actions by the ANC government which it says have offended the US, centred on its good relations with Russia, China and Iran, and its hostility to Israel and Taiwan.

The Bill was introduced by Texan Republican Ronny Jackson, a firm supporter of President Donald Trump. He told the committee that South Africa, while claiming to be non-aligned, had recently abandoned the US and its allies by increasingly aligning with America’s adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and Iranian military proxies such as Hamas.

He cited SA hosting the Chinese government’s Confucius Institutes, conducting military exercises with China and Russia, and its alleged involvement in efforts to downgrade the US dollar.

He also said, “South Africa is systematically going after our partners and allies.” He cited its downgrading of Taiwan’s presence in the country, “falsely accusing the State of Israel of genocide at the illegitimate International Criminal Court and mimicking Iran’s disgusting dismissal of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October the 7th” (the date of the attack by Hamas on southern Israel). 

Jackson said “extreme politicians from the African National Congress have led efforts to target Afrikaners”.

Daily Maverick recently revealed that the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) was a significant donor to Jackson, the sponsor of the Bill, and several other members of Congress hostile to SA. 

Of the six Democrats who voted for the Bill in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Brad Sherman and Jared Moskowitz are known to be strong Israel supporters. Bill Keating and George Latimer represent districts with large Jewish populations and Ted Lieu was born in Taiwan. 

Gregory Meeks, senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and most other Democrats on the committee, strongly opposed the Bill. 

Meeks said SA acted as a leader not only among African countries, but also on the world stage – and was this year chairing the G20. The US and SA had a long history of partnership, which the Bill “will not help to deepen or further”.

“South Africa has taken a number of foreign policy positions that I happen not to agree with. But in mature relations between countries, we can deal with those differences through diplomacy and dialogue. This legislation does just the opposite, taking a heavy hand”.

He said, “President Trump has already disproportionately targeted South Africa. He’s done this by trying to embarrass President Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, with faulty evidence of purported atrocities in the country, by instituting an executive order cutting all US assistance in the country, and putting in its place a special refugee resettlement programme for Afrikaners.

‘Glaring hypocrisy’

“And at the same time, he’s blocking the resettlement of literally all other refugees to the United States… This is glaring hypocrisy.”

Jackson’s Bill is an updated version of a Bill which was introduced last year, but which ran out of time when Congress ended before elections in November. 

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola posted on X that: “

We in South Africa have long held the conviction that our relationship with the United States is not merely transactional, but a partnership rooted in shared values of democracy, justice, and progress.

“We acknowledge the robust debate within the US legislative chambers, and we deeply appreciate the voices of reason, such as those of Representatives Gregory Meeks and Jonathan Jackson following in steps  of Jesse Jackson generation, for displaying the intricacies and a deep understanding of our nation.

 “Diplomatic efforts are underway to ensure that we consolidate our relationship with the US and that we further appreciate that it’s a long term undertaking under the current geopolitical environment.”

 Lamola reposted Democrat Representative Jonathan Jackson saying: “Today, I spoke before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to oppose H.R. 2633. This bill, driven by Extreme MAGA ideology, risks dismantling decades of diplomatic progress with #SouthAfrica. There is no #whitegenocide in South Africa: this false narrative must be rejected.” DM