But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Ken Calvert

Republican · U.S. House, California District 40
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Calvert introduced the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, mandating delivery to the government of Israel of U.S. weapons the Biden administration had paused, and called the withholding "sad and frustrating." In June 2025 he said "Never again' is now" and supported Israel's strikes on Iran.

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Deep Dive

Calvert wrote and introduced H.R. 8369, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, after the Biden administration paused certain bomb shipments to Israel in May 2024. When the House passed it on May 16, 2024, he said: "It's both sad and frustrating that President Biden's political decision to withhold aid to Israel is now forcing Congress to exert our Constitutional power of the purse and demand the delivery of this security assistance." He chairs the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; on November 2, 2023 he voted for the Israel security supplemental and said he stands firmly behind Israel's right to defend itself. In February 2024 he announced a House panel draft of $17.6 billion in military assistance for Israel without offsets; the only source for that item would not open, so it is carried unlinked on the research page.

On June 13, 2025, on Israel's strikes against Iran, he called Israel "the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people" and said "'Never again' is now, and I support Israel's continued operations to ensure the survival of their people and their home."

In the weeks after October 7, 2023, he called the Hamas attack "the absolute face of evil" and said Israel had no choice but to eradicate Hamas, which he compared to ISIS. On October 25, 2023 he said "Israel, Gaza, and the world will be a safer place when the Hamas terrorist organization is destroyed."

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Committees

House Committee on Appropriations

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8034 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-04-20 · Passed 366-58
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8369 - Israel Security Assistance Support Act2024-05-16 · Passed 224-187
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.Amdt. 55 to H.R. 4016 - strike $500M for Israeli Cooperative Programs2025-07-18 · Failed 6-422 (only 6 voted to cut)
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
H.R. 8595 - Massie amendment (Part A No. 8) to bar FY27 funds for Israel and cut $3.3B in Foreign Military Financing2026-07-15 · Failed 104-314
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
Bill sponsorship
H.R. 3565 - Block the Bombs ActWould bar transfer of 2,000-lb/BLU-109 bunker busters, JDAMs, 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells to Israel. Does not affect Iron
Not sponsoringhas not backed this restriction bill
H.R. 1229 - United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025Formalizes/expands bilateral defense cooperation with Israel.
Not sponsoringhas not backed this support bill
Notable actions

• 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.

See a dash? Ask the candidate where they stand, then send us their answer and we'll review it and update the mark. Or volunteer to help review candidates.

Voted to send weapons or funding in more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$30K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $22,900 · Republican Jewish Coalition: $7,500
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$22,900The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.Republican Jewish Coalition$7,500The Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC; it financially supports Republican candidates who reflect its priorities, including strong U.S. backing of the government of Israel.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.
Endorsed by AIPAC
AIPACThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.

In their words

“It's both sad and frustrating that President Biden's political decision to withhold aid to Israel is now forcing Congress to exert our Constitutional power of the purse and demand the delivery of this security assistance following an overwhelming and bipartisan vote supporting Israel just a few weeks ago.”
Source ↗, 2024-05-16
“'Never again' is now, and I support Israel's continued operations to ensure the survival of their people and their home”
Source ↗, 2025-06-13
Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement)

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

Searched 2026-08-10 for: Calvert antisemitism statement; Calvert Israel military aid statement; Calvert CA-41/CA-40 2026; Calvert Israel Palestine statement). Recorded key votes and the AIPAC support total are badges; H.R. 8369 is characterized because Calvert authored it and spoke about it.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • 2023-11-04 inline, source published 2023-11-02 [Months after October 7, 2023; date anchored to source]: Voted for emergency military aid legislation for Israel; floor remarks that he stands "firmly behind Israel's right to defend itself" (fragment per the search notes, not independently verified) and that the U.S. must ensure Israel receives needed defense resources. Release, floor video.
  • 2024-02-03 [Current position; SOURCE DID NOT OPEN, cannot be used on the card]: Announced House panel draft of $17.6 billion in military assistance for Israel without domestic offsets; quoted as saying the bill "will ensure Israel has the tools it needs to complete the mission and sends a strong signal...that the US unequivocally stands with Israel." Only source (timesofisrael.com liveblog) would not open; unlinked.
  • 2024-05-16 [Current position; verified against source]: Introduced H.R. 8369, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, mandating delivery of appropriated U.S. defense weapons to the government of Israel after paused bomb shipments. Verified quote: "It's both sad and frustrating that President Biden's political decision to withhold aid to Israel is now forcing Congress to exert our Constitutional power of the purse and demand the delivery of this security assistance following an overwhelming and bipartisan vote supporting Israel just a few weeks ago." Calvert release, Appropriations release. MISATTRIBUTION CORRECTED: the quote in the search notes "aid to eradicate Hamas...must be delivered without delay" belongs to Chairman Tom Cole in the same release, not Calvert. The word in the search notes "misguided" was not found in Calvert's remarks (third source jpost.com, which would not open).

Characterization of the conflict

  • 2023-10-10 [Months after October 7, 2023]: Statement on the attack: "the absolute face of evil", "unprovoked atrocities"; said Palestinians "had a choice" after Israel's 2005 Gaza withdrawal but "chose to elect Hamas as their government," leaving Israel "no choice but to eradicate Hamas, which has proved every bit as brutal as ISIS." Release.
  • 2023-10-25 [Months after October 7, 2023]: On H.Res. 771: "Israel, Gaza, and the world will be a safer place when the Hamas terrorist organization is destroyed"; called Hamas an Iran-backed existential threat. Release.
  • 2025-06-13 [Current position; verified against source]: On Israeli strikes on Iran: "Israel is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, and since its inception they have only wished to live in peace"; "they will not hesitate to defend their nation, and their people, with every tool in their arsenal - as any nation would." The wording in the search notes "every tool in its arsenal" corrected to "their arsenal." Release.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • 2024-05-15 [Current position; SOURCE DID NOT OPEN, cannot be used on the card]: Jerusalem Post interview: "Around here we've been united for years, both Republicans and Democrats, in our support for Israel. I hope that that doesn't stop now." Source jpost.com article-801323 would not open; unlinked.
  • 2024-07-24 [Current position; weak advocacy source]: Attended Netanyahu's joint address and reportedly endorsed its message; the quoted line "Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory will be your victory" is Netanyahu's, not Calvert's. Source is the advocacy site boughtbyzionism.org; kept out of the card summary.

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

  • 2023-10-25 [Months after October 7, 2023]: Condemned "disturbing antisemitic rhetoric at college campuses and Hamas sympathizers who have removed posters of Israeli families that are being held hostage"; said pledging "never again" commits Americans to protecting Jewish people everywhere. Release.
  • 2025-06-13 [Current position; verified]: "As antisemitism rears its ugly head around the world, the reason for the state of Israel has become abundantly clear"; "'Never again' is now, and I support Israel's continued operations to ensure the survival of their people and their home." Release.

Identity sources

Also in this race

  1. ✗ Young Kim (Republican)

All California candidates.

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 Find Your Candidates for votes, funding and contact details.