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

Brian Burley

Republican · U.S. House, California District 42
–
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.

No recorded votes on the bills we track. We found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

Burley has not spoken publicly on U.S. weapons or money to the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians; in 2022 and 2026 surveys he declined Israel-related questions. In a March 2020 survey he strongly disagreed with supporting the BDS movement against Israel.

The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.

Deep Dive

We found no statement from Brian Burley, a Huntington Beach City School District trustee running for CA-42, on U.S. weapons or money to the government of Israel, and none on U.S. aid to Palestinians. He has not characterized the Israel/Palestine conflict publicly and has no Israel-related lobbying record.

His only on-record answer is old: in a March 2020 candidate survey during his CA-48 run, he marked "Strongly Disagree" on supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel. In his 2022 and 2026 questionnaires he declined to answer whether the U.S. relationship with Israel or foreign aid to the region is a national priority. Opposing BDS is not a position on U.S. weapons or funding.

The money

Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found

2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

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: Burley CA-42 2026; Burley Republican California House 2026; Burley Israel/Gaza/Palestine/Jewish/antisemitism; Burley Huntington Beach board; Burley Israel Palestine; Burley "Israel"; Burley "antisemitism"). Two of four questions came back empty.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • No public statements, white papers, or campaign positions on U.S. military aid, arms transfers, or defense sales to Israel, and none on U.S. aid to Palestinians. [Nothing found]
  • 2020-03 [Earlier record; month-only inline date from the survey label]: CA-48 candidate survey answer "Strongly Disagree" on supporting the BDS movement against Israel. 2020 survey. Note: a BDS answer is not a weapons or funding position.
  • 2022 and 2026 cycles [Earlier record and current position by cycle; survey pages undated]: Declined to answer iVoterGuide questions on whether the U.S. relationship with Israel or foreign aid to the region is a national priority. 2022 survey, 2026 survey.

Characterization of the conflict

  • Nothing on record. [Nothing found]

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • Nothing on record. [Nothing found]

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

  • No statements on antisemitism or safety of Jewish institutions. 2020-10 [Earlier record]: At a Huntington Beach candidate forum he condemned extreme political rhetoric dividing the local community; municipal unity remarks, not Israel-related. Sources were two Facebook group posts, neither of which would open; unlinked.

Identity sources

  • Ballotpedia and campaign bio: school board trustee, IT consultant, former OC GOP central committee member; prior runs CA-48 2020, CA-47 2022; advanced from the June 2, 2026 primary to face incumbent Robert Garcia.
  • Disambiguation sources (author Shane Burley via Substack, broadcaster Kay Burley via YouTube) concern other people; excluded from content.

Also in this race

  1. ? Robert Garcia (Democrat)

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.