But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Lauren Underwood
- ✓ Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
- Backed with $2K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Sits on House Appropriations
Underwood announced on the day of the vote: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military." At an August 2025 town hall she said what is happening "is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong."
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You asked Lauren Underwood where they stand.
Deep Dive
Underwood represents Illinois's 14th District in Chicago's outer suburbs and is running for re-election. Her own words explain the vote her card shows.
On 15 July 2026 she posted a video titled: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military." That is the same day as the tracked amendment recorded on this card, and it is the rare case where a member says plainly what a badge otherwise leaves unexplained.
Asked at a DeKalb town hall in August 2025 whether Israel's actions met the legal definition of genocide, she declined to argue the term and said: "I'm not sure about that legal definition of genocide, but what I can tell you, what's happening right now is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong. I think that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is completely culpable in what's happening." She added that debates about terms "allow people to fixate on those terms and therefore avoid solutions."
In May 2025 she co-sponsored H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, which would withhold specified offensive weapons transfers. Her position moved to get there: asked in October 2024 whether she would support an arms embargo, she answered "No."
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
House Committee on Appropriations
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 some, but no more than half, of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$2K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
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
- [Position, 2026-07-15] Her own campaign-page video, title recovered verbatim from the page's embedded data: "Today, I'm voting to stop more U.S. funding for the Israeli military. Watch my conversation with Leigh Ann Caldwell." This is her own account of the vote recorded on this card.
⚠ **A QUOTE THE RESEARCH GAVE HER THAT WE COULD NOT CONFIRM: "The Israelis are out of control."** That sentence appears only in the headline of a post by trackaipac, a third-party advocacy account. A raw-byte search of her own video page does not contain it. It is therefore **withheld from the card and from the quote entries**, and recorded here as unverified.
- [Position, 2025-05-21] Co-sponsored H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, which would withhold transfers of specified offensive weapons and add congressional authorization requirements.
- Her recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card; the July 2026 statement above is her own explanation of the most recent one.
- [Position, 2024-10-29] ⚠ **A DATED EARLIER ANSWER, found while writing her opponent's card.** WNIJ reports asking her directly: "Would you support an arms embargo in Israel?" Her answer: "No." The same piece says she "does not support a change in U.S. policy towards Israel" while noting Israel's offensive had killed over 42,000 Palestinians. Confirmed verbatim. Set beside her July 2026 statement above, this documents a change of position over roughly twenty months, which is exactly the kind of thing a card should carry and a badge cannot show.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- No dedicated statement located on U.S. humanitarian funding, UNRWA or the aid pipeline as a policy question.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-08-23] DeKalb town hall, opened and confirmed word for word: "I'm not sure about that legal definition of genocide, but what I can tell you, what's happening right now is immoral. It's unacceptable. It's wrong. I think that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is completely culpable in what's happening." And: "I think that debates around terms allow people to fixate on those terms and therefore avoid solutions."
- [After October 7, 2023-11-29] Statement condemning the October 7 attack, affirming Israel's right to protect its people, noting "the civilian death rate in Gaza [is] skyrocketing," and urging permanent de-escalation. From the weeks right after October 7; not used on the card.
- [Position, 2025-01-15] Statement welcoming the ceasefire and hostage release, hoping for "a permanent, lasting peace in Gaza." Not opened.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2026-02-24] In an interview she described the pro-Israel lobby as "very active and engaged" in elections and called open debate about primary campaign spending "healthy,", as reported. Sources include a TN Holler video post; login-walled, unverified.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [After October 7, 2023-11-29] Same November statement: "The recent rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia is unacceptable, and our country has a long and painful history with both," citing local incidents including a 2022 mass shooting.
Also in this race
- ✗Supports James Marter (Republican)
All Illinois candidates.
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