Katherine Clark

Democrat · U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5

On July 15, 2026, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said she would vote for a Republican amendment barring U.S. funds for the government of Israel. She said the status quo is not tenable and the United States should not provide a blank check for military aid.

Clark set out that position in a statement issued the day the House took up an amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky that would have barred the foreign aid bill's funds for the government of Israel. She said the amendment was overly broad, because it also blocked humanitarian funding for Palestinian refugees and civilians in Gaza, and called it a Republican stunt. She said she would support it regardless: "I will be voting yes, not because I agree with the entirety of the amendment, or the GOP’s cynical motivations for its consideration, but because I believe we must change course." Jewish Insider reported the same day that this broke with the rest of House Democratic leadership, which opposed the amendment.

The same statement set limits on what she was asking for. Clark said the United States should keep a strong strategic alliance with the government of Israel and support its defense, and that the missile defense systems she named were not affected by the amendment. She also said that a new and sustainable path for security in the region cannot be achieved without surging aid to Gaza, halting settlement construction in the West Bank, ending settler violence, and upholding the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

She has not backed the Block the Bombs Act, a bill by Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois that would stop transfers of certain U.S. offensive weapons to the government of Israel. Zeteo, a news outlet founded by the journalist Mehdi Hasan, reported in August 2025 that Clark had stopped short of supporting it. Zeteo posted a video after the July 2026 vote whose caption says she still will not support the bill; what she says in the video is not yet confirmed, and its address is on the research page.

On August 14, 2025, at an event in her district held by the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobbying group, Clark spoke of "stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza". Axios reported that this made her the highest ranking member of Congress to use that word for the war. Four days later she told the Jewish News Syndicate, "I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide", saying she had repeated the word in response to a question at the event. Her other statements on the war, her attendance at Prime Minister Netanyahu's 2024 address to Congress, and her record on antisemitism are on her research page.

Tracked votes: opposed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 4 of 6 recorded votes.

Research

One search was read as a lead list for this card, run 2026-09-04, and every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-06 unless marked otherwise. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07). Katherine Clark has represented Massachusetts's 5th district since 2013 and has been House Democratic Whip since 2023; she is seeking re-election.

U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel

U.S. aid to Palestinians

Characterization of the conflict

Related rhetoric and lobbying

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)

Not on the card, and why

Sources read for this card (address; opened or could not open; date read)

All Massachusetts candidates.

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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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.