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 James
- Backed with $18K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by Republican Jewish Coalition
James represents Michigan's 10th District and is running for governor. In a 2020 Senate campaign position paper he called Israel "an essential and reliable ally" and backed continuing U.S. security assistance to its government. His November 2023 statement is on the research page; none later was located.
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You asked John James where they stand.
Deep Dive
James has represented Michigan's 10th District since 2023 and won the August 4, 2026 Republican primary for governor. His recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card.
His fullest written position is the U.S.-Israel paper from his 2020 Senate campaign: Israel is "an essential and reliable ally of the United States, and our most important strategic partner in a volatile region." He supported continuing the ten-year Memorandum of Understanding and future ones "so that security assistance to Israel continues," more funding for joint anti-missile programs, and anti-boycott legislation. The same paper backs "a two-state solution: a Jewish state of Israel living in peace and security with a demilitarized Palestinian state," adding that "Hamas is not a willing partner and should not be included in these talks." That paper is six years old. His November 2023 statement on the Israel supplemental is on the research page, and nothing later restates it in his own words.
In July 2026, after criticism of his remarks about an annual religious procession in Dearborn ("I didn't go overseas to fight extremists just to find them on our doorstep here"), he said that if elected governor he would push to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil-rights organization, a terrorist organization. That is a statement about an American civil-rights group, not about what the United States sends abroad, and it is carried here as dated campaign conduct.
If you want his current position on U.S. weapons and money for the government of Israel, you are better placed to get it than we are: ask James directly and send us the reply. It goes on this page in his own words.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes
• Voted Yes on H.R. 6126 (Nov. 2, 2023; passed 226-196, Roll Call 577), the Israel supplemental appropriations bill that paired $14.3 billion for Israel with a rescission of IRS funding, and issued a press release the same day explaining and defending that vote.
• Voted Yes on H.R. 8369, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act (May 16, 2024; passed 224-187, Roll Call 217).
• Voted No on the Greene amendment to the FY2026 defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4016, Amendment No. 13 / Greene of Georgia Part A No. 114) that sought to cut $500 million in U.S.-Israel cooperative missile-defense funding. The amendment failed 6-422 on July 18, 2025.
• Traveled to Israel in November 2023 on a House Foreign Affairs Committee congressional delegation, receiving war briefings from U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and meeting hostage families; he said it was his first time in Israel.
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 more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$18K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC)
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
- [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] Statement on the supplemental vote, the $14.3 billion package for Israel: "Israel has every right to defend itself against terror and truculence, and the United States must stand with our top ally in the Middle East. That’s why I voted today to rescind $14.3 billion in additional federal funds given to the IRS last summer and reallocate these funds to Israel as it defends itself against Hamas. This assistance is critical to Israel’s efforts to restore peace and stand as a haven of democracy for our Jewish brothers and sisters." Not on the card summary.
- [Position, 2024-04, per an advocacy tracker; unverified] Reaffirmed support for U.S. security assistance (boughtbyzionism.org, an advocacy tracker; not read; attributive only, not card material).
- [Prior, 2020-06] Senate-campaign position paper (PDF via Jewish Insider, read and extracted verbatim): "It is an essential and reliable ally of the United States, and our most important strategic partner in a volatile region"; "I support continuing our commitments under the U.S. - Israel 10-year Memorandum of Understanding... so that security assistance to Israel continues to ensure Israel's military advantage in the region"; supports funding for joint anti-missile and anti-tunneling programs; "I would support legislation like the Israel Anti-Boycott Act."
- His six tracked badges (Yes on all four more-support bills, No on both cut amendments) are uniform; his only explanations date from the weeks after the October 7 attack, so the badges stand uncharacterized on the card.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- Nothing located in any band.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-07] Statement condemning the attack as "vicious" and "anti-semitic"; blamed administration foreign policy for weakened deterrence. Not on the card summary.
- [Reaction window, 2023-11-13] Delegation-trip statement after meeting Netanyahu and hostage families (WDET coverage): "I traveled to Israel over the weekend with a Congressional Delegation for a briefing on the war from Ambassador Lew, Defense Minister Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We also met with some of the families of the 240 hostages held by Hamas." And: "We will turn our heartbreak and anger into action. America must help get these hostages home safely, and support Israel in its right to defend itself." Not on the card summary.
- [Prior, 2020-06] The position paper's two-state passage, verified verbatim: "I support a two-state solution: a Jewish state of Israel living in peace and security with a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes Israel's legitimacy"; "Hamas is not a willing partner and should not be included in these talks as they are fundamentally dedicated to Israel's destruction"; direct talks, not the ICC. NOTE: an earlier account presented this paper as a current campaign document; the file's upload path and content date it to his 2020 Senate run.
- [Position, 2026-03-01, reported; unverified source] Social post on operations against Iranian-backed threats: while he "hates war," the "Iranian regime's decades of terror... must be answered for"; "appeasement invites war" (the CBS Detroit page could not be opened). Reported, not asserted.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Prior, 2023-08, per the advocacy tracker] Appointed to a congressional Friendship Group with the Knesset (boughtbyzionism.org; attributive).
- [Position, 2026-07-10] The Dearborn episode involving the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Arab American News): his procession remark, the condemnation from the organization's Michigan chapter, and his pledge to push a terrorist designation of it as governor.
- AIPAC and RJC lifetime support are badges; not restated.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-07] Identified the violence as driven by antisemitism (his statement). Not on the card summary.
- [Reaction window, 2023-11-23, reported] Questioned State Department officials on antisemitism within UN bodies (YouTube, which we have not watched). Not on the card summary.
- [Reaction window, 2023-12-05] Campus-antisemitism hearing statement. Not on the card summary.
Also in this race
- ?Mixed Jocelyn Benson (Democrat)
- –No Position Found Anthony Hudson (Libertarian)
- –No Position Found Douglas Campbell (Green)
- –No Position Found Donna Brandenburg (Other)
All Michigan candidates.
See everyone on the Michigan ballot →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.