Sam T. Liccardo

Democrat · U.S. House, California District 16

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."

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.

Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 2 of 2 recorded votes.

Research

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

Characterization of the conflict

Rhetoric and lobbying

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)

Also in this race: Peter Soule (Republican) · All California candidates.

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But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.