But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Sam T. Liccardo
In July 2026 Liccardo said the U.S. must stop having taxpayers fund "the Netanyahu government's use of U.S. weapons in a manner that routinely kills, injures, and displaces civilians." He opposes $3.3 billion for offensive weapons, supports $500 million for defensive systems, and called the Massie amendment "flawed and overbroad."
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You asked Sam T. Liccardo where they stand.
Deep Dive
Liccardo's fullest statement on U.S. weapons came on July 15, 2026, on his official page about the Massie amendment. He wrote: "We must stop having American taxpayers fund the Netanyahu government's use of U.S. weapons in a manner that routinely kills, injures, and displaces civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon." He distinguished his opposition to $3.3 billion in weapons funding from his support for $500 million for purely defensive anti-missile systems such as Iron Dome and Arrow 3. He declined to vote for the amendment itself, calling it "the flawed and overbroad Amendment from Thomas Massie." He said he has cosponsored several bills to halt U.S. military aid for offensive weapons to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and other nations using the arms in ways that violate U.S. and international law, and wrote that the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding "has outlived any applicability to reality." The same statement calls for a real ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and says the U.S. must press Israel to halt illegal settlements in the West Bank.
In July 2025, as Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepened, he told KQED that Hamas must release hostages to end the war and that the Israeli government must end the suffering, warning that walking away from the disaster would make the U.S. "morally complicit in the death of these starving children." In February 2025 he joined 144 House Democrats urging President Trump to retract statements suggesting forcible removal of Palestinians from Gaza, a proposal the letter called "morally indefensible."
Earlier, at a January 2024 candidate forum at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, he supported a two-state solution with protection and security for Israel and spoke on combating local antisemitism. In December 2025 he spoke at a Silicon Valley United Against Antisemitism event after high school students formed a swastika, calling the act "uniquely awful"; that is community-safety context, not a weapons or funding position.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
• Vote record imported from official House Clerk roll calls for H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034, and H.R. 8369. Other position fields remain under investigation.
How this mark works
We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.
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Voted to send weapons or funding in more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes.)
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found
In their words
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Identity: Sam T. Liccardo (D), U.S. Representative CA-16, former San Jose mayor, seeking re-election 2026. Wikipedia.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- July 2025 [Current position; month-only inline date anchored to KQED publication 2025-07-28]: Social media statement on the Gaza humanitarian crisis criticizing U.S. military support for Israel's offensive operations: "We cannot walk away from this humanitarian disaster ... or we will be morally complicit in the death of these starving children." KQED.
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; verified]: Official statement: "We must stop having American taxpayers fund the Netanyahu government's use of U.S. weapons in a manner that routinely kills, injures, and displaces civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon." Distinguished opposition to $3.3 billion for weapons from support for $500 million for purely defensive anti-missile systems (Iron Dome, Arrow 3). Said: "I will not vote for the flawed and overbroad Amendment from Thomas Massie." Cosponsored several bills to halt U.S. military aid for offensive weapons to Israel, the UAE, and other nations deploying arms in ways that violate U.S. and international law. House page.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2024-01-18 [Months after October 7, 2023]: At a Palo Alto congressional candidate forum: "We grieve for all of them, and we must do all that we can to support a path to peace, a two-state solution that ensures protection and security for Israel, which is facing existential threats." KTVU (2024-01-18). Multi-candidate forum coverage; quote not independently verified.
- 2025-06-13 [Current position]: Statement on Israel-Iran escalation: "A nuclear Iran is a nonstarter"; supported dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities; condemned missile strikes on civilian neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. House release. Israel-Iran item, adjacent to this site's scope; kept as found.
- 2025-07-28 [Current position]: Called Gaza a "humanitarian disaster": "Yes, Hamas must release hostages to end this war, but the Israeli government must end this suffering — and we must demand it." KQED.
- 2026-07-15 [Current position]: Wrote that resolving the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank "has far less to do with military resources and battlefield success–where Israel has consistently prevailed–than with political will"; called for a binding ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, a post-war reconstruction plan, an end to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and accountability for violent settlers. House page (ceasefire/settlements sentences verified in fragment form).
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2025-02-13 [Current position]: One of 144 House Democrats signing a letter urging President Trump to retract statements suggesting forcible removal or permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza; the letter called such a proposal "morally indefensible" and a Geneva Convention violation. Casten press release. Multi-signer letter hosted on another member's site; treated as signer-list attribution, not Liccardo's own words.
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; verified]: Wrote that "President Obama's non-binding 2016 Memorandum of Understanding has outlived any applicability to reality, three presidential administrations later"; committed to holding allies accountable for how U.S. military assistance is used. House page.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)
- 2024-01-18 [Months after October 7, 2023]: At the Oshman Family JCC forum, spoke on combating rising local antisemitism and security for Jewish communities alongside a diplomatic resolution. KTVU.
- 2025-12-23 [Current position]: Spoke at Silicon Valley United Against Antisemitism at Congregation Shir Hadash, Los Gatos, after high school students arranged themselves to form a swastika; called the act "uniquely awful" and asked "How could this possibly happen, that young people could be so infected with this horrible disease of antisemitism in such a way that they would be engaged in organizing such a hateful act?"; called for accountability, Holocaust education, and community efforts against hate. JNS.
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Peter Soule (Republican)
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