But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Tom McClintock
- Backed with $23K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by AIPAC
McClintock backs U.S. weapons for Israel. In May 2024 he said Congress provided the precision bombs and munitions Israel needs to end the war quickly, calling the administration's withholding of authorized military aid to Israel "treacherous." He says the killing can only end with the unconditional surrender of Hamas.
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Deep Dive
In a May 16, 2024 floor speech on H.R. 8369, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, McClintock said Congress provided "the precision bombs and other munitions that Israel needs" to end the war quickly while minimizing civilian casualties, and of the Biden administration's delay of bomb shipments to Israel: "This act is treacherous, and it must not stand." In the same speech he compared October 7 to Pearl Harbor: "Hamas targeted and butchered innocent and unarmed women and children," Israel has "a moral duty" to defeat Hamas, and "the killing on both sides can only end with the unconditional surrender of Hamas."
In April 2024 floor debate on the foreign aid package he said Ukraine and Israel were in "growing danger of running out of arms and ammunition," quoting Reagan that "defense is not a budget issue."
He wrote H.R. 176, the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act, saying people affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad should be permanently barred from entering or receiving immigration benefits in the United States; it passed the House Judiciary Committee in February 2025 and the House in December 2025, with McClintock describing Hamas's actions as "barbaric inhumanity" and citing the killing of the Bibas family.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes
• 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 6 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$23K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
AIPAC (2026 endorsement)
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2024-04-20 [Current position; verified]: Floor debate on the national security package: Ukraine and Israel in "growing danger of running out of arms and ammunition"; quoted Reagan, "defense is not a budget issue." House international issues page. Note: an initial search framed the danger line as Israel-only; the speech pairs Ukraine and Israel.
- 2024-05-16 [Current position; verified]: Floor speech on H.R. 8369: Congress provided "the precision bombs and other munitions that Israel needs"; on the administration's withheld bomb shipments, "This act is treacherous, and it must not stand"; criticized aid continuing into Gaza before a Hamas surrender. Same page.
- Recorded key votes (H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034, H.R. 8369, H.R. 7217, NDAA FY26 missile-defense amendment, H.R. 8595) and AIPAC funding support are badges and are not restated here.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2024-05-16 [Current position; verified]: Compared October 7 to Pearl Harbor; "Hamas targeted and butchered innocent and unarmed women and children"; Israel has a "moral duty" to defeat Hamas; "The killing on both sides can only end with the unconditional surrender of Hamas." House international issues page.
- 2025-02-26 and 2025-12-01 [Current position]: In committee and on the floor, described Hamas's actions as "barbaric inhumanity" and "hell on Earth"; cited the kidnapping and killing of the Bibas family; stated "enduring opposition to Hamas and the terrorism they unleashed on innocent civilians." Judiciary release; floor speech.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2024-05-16 [Current position]: Denounced the administration for withholding munitions from Israel while humanitarian aid entered Gaza before a Hamas surrender. House international issues page.
- 2025-02-26 / 2025-12-01 [Current position]: Authored and advanced H.R. 176, No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act: permanent bar on entry or immigration benefits for people affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad or assisting them, classified in law alongside Nazi collaborators and PLO terrorists. Release; speech.
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)
- 2023-11-08 [Months after October 7, 2023]: At the House Judiciary hearing on campus antisemitism and free speech, pressed witnesses on First Amendment boundaries around slogans like "from the river to the sea," remarking: "I happen to believe in the eradication of Hamas. The same freedom of speech that protects my right to advocate that position is at stake here, is it not?" Times of Israel (2023-11-09); Medill on the Hill (2023-11-09).
Also in this race
- ✓Opposes Michael Masuda (Democrat)
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