But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
John Garamendi
Garamendi joined a July 2026 joint statement opposing $3.3 billion in added funding for Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. In April 2024 he signed a letter urging Biden to halt offensive weapons transfers to Israel, saying the U.S. should refuse weaponry used indiscriminately.
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Deep Dive
On July 16, 2026, Garamendi joined 27 House colleagues in a joint statement announcing yes votes on an amendment to halt certain U.S. funding to Israel. The statement opposed "providing an additional $3.3 billion of American taxpayer dollars to be used for Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon" and said existing human rights conditions on American security assistance "have not been meaningfully enforced." In April 2024 he was one of 40 House members, five from the Bay Area, who signed a letter asking President Biden to halt offensive weapons transfers to Israel pending investigation of the strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. He told KQED: "It's time for Israel to change its tactics, and the only way they're going to do that is when the United States refuses to provide the offensive weaponry that they have used, in many cases, indiscriminately." In May 2024 he commended the administration's pause of certain offensive weapon deliveries in a Bloomberg TV interview.
On the conflict itself, Garamendi said in July 2025 that it is "impossible to look at the starvation caused by Israel's dangerous and willful failure to enable humanitarian aid and not see a genocide being committed against the people of Palestine." In February 2024 he signed an international lawmakers' letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and renewed work toward a two-state solution, and in October 2025 he joined 24 California House Democrats demanding the release of U.S. citizens detained by Israeli forces during the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission.
On lobbying money, a decision separate from any weapons or aid position: in a 2026 video message he said he parted ways with AIPAC years earlier over Israel's military conduct in Gaza. He has also co-sponsored antisemitism-related measures, listed on the research page as context.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 1 of 6 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
House Committee on Armed Services
• 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 some, but no more than half, of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 1 of 6 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.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2023-10-10 [Months after October 7, 2023]: Said the U.S. must provide appropriate security assistance to Israel to support its defense and regional stability. Press release
- 2024-04-06 [Current position; verified]: One of 40 House signers (five Bay Area members) of a letter to President Biden calling for a halt to offensive weapons transfers to Israel pending investigation of the World Central Kitchen strike. Quote verified: "It's time for Israel to change its tactics, and the only way they're going to do that is when the United States refuses to provide the offensive weaponry that they have used, in many cases, indiscriminately." KQED
- 2024-05-10 [Current position; date taken from the text itself; video, text unverified]: Commended the Biden administration's pause of certain offensive weapon deliveries to Israel on Bloomberg TV. YouTube
- 2026-07-16 [Current position; verified]: Joint statement with 27 colleagues announcing yes votes on the Massie amendment (#8) to the Republican foreign aid budget bill, opposing an additional $3.3 billion for Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon; said human rights conditions on U.S. assistance have not been meaningfully enforced; noted the vote was not opposition to Middle East Partnership for Peace Act programs. Press release
Characterization of the conflict
- 2023-10-10 [Months after October 7, 2023]: Condemned the October 7 attacks as acts of terror; expressed concern for Palestinian civilians. Press release
- 2024-02-07 [Current position]: Signed an international letter with U.S., Canadian, and German lawmakers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a renewed diplomatic push toward a two-state solution. Press release
- 2025-07-29 [Current position; source did not open (lassennews.com, which would not open); unlinked]: Statement condemning Israeli settler violence in the West Bank after the death of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen; called for accountability.
- 2025-07-30 [Current position; verified]: "It's impossible to look at the starvation caused by Israel's dangerous and willful failure to enable humanitarian aid and not see a genocide being committed against the people of Palestine." Also described Gaza as a devastating man-made crisis with widespread starvation. Davis Vanguard. A second source, dawn.com, would not open (unlinked). Note: an initial search’s phrase "man-made famine" was not confirmed; the verified wording is "man-made crisis".
- 2025-10-07 [Current position]: Joined 24 California House Democrats in a letter to the Secretary of State demanding the safe release of U.S. citizens detained by Israeli forces during the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission. Group letter from his own office's release; attribution low-risk. Press release
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2026-06-01 [Current position; date taken from the text itself; video, text unverified]: Video message saying he parted ways with AIPAC and similar organizations years earlier over Israel's military conduct in Gaza; the post title reads "I've taken $0 from AIPAC and regularly refuse more military and financial aid to I[srael]". A funding-relationship statement; the aid-refusal phrasing in the title is unverified video text. Campaign Facebook video
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)
- 2023-12-04 [Months after October 7, 2023; source did not open (legiscan.com, which would not open); unlinked]: Co-sponsored H.Res. 907 condemning the rise in domestic antisemitism and urging implementation of the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
- 2024-01-27 [Current position, first days; multi-member source]: Co-sponsored the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R. 537). Sources are another member's press releases listing cosponsors: Salazar release 2024-01-27, Salazar release 2024-02-20.
- 2025-12-17 [Current position; date taken from the text itself; tracker page undated]: Co-sponsored H.R. 6806, creating DOJ/FBI infrastructure to track and combat domestic antisemitism while protecting academic freedom and distinguishing political criticism of Israeli policies from hate speech. BillTrack50
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Rudy Recile (Republican)
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