Tim Walberg

Republican · U.S. House, Michigan District 5

At a March 2024 town hall Walberg said the United States should not spend a dime on humanitarian aid for Gaza, and that the war should be "like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick." His issues page rests on continued U.S. military assistance to the government of Israel.

Walberg represents Michigan's 5th District, along the state's southern border.

The town hall in Dundee is the clearest statement any candidate in this batch has made against U.S. humanitarian aid for Gaza. A constituent asked why the United States was spending money to build a port, a question NBC News reported as referring to the plan to deliver aid by floating dock, and he answered: "It's Joe Biden's reason: We need to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. I don't think we should." At the same meeting he said "We shouldn't be spending a dime on humanitarian aid," and then: "It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick."

He did not withdraw the position. He told a Detroit station he had "used a metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as swiftly as possible, without putting American troops in harm's way", and told constituents a week later that "I was talking about military aid and full-scale assaults conducted by both Israel and Ukraine to quickly win their respective wars". Neither statement addresses the humanitarian-aid remark, and nothing later from him does either.

On weapons and money he is straightforward. His official issues page rests his Israel position on U.S. military assistance: "Since Israel's founding, the United States has demonstrated its commitment to Israel's security and has maintained close defense and diplomatic cooperation. In 2016 the House supported and then President Obama signed into law a long-term Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military assistance to Israel, which will provide security assistance to Israel for ten years." The same page lists him as a cosponsor of the United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act, and says nothing about humanitarian aid to Gaza, about the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, or about any condition on a transfer.

His votes match, and they are worth naming. He voted for the April 2024 package, of which $4 billion was for the Iron Dome and David's Sling interceptor systems and $1.2 billion for Iron Beam, at a reported 34,049 people killed in Gaza, 14,685 of them children. Four weeks later he voted for the bill written to force delivery of the 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs the administration had paused, a different kind of weapon, at a reported 35,272 killed. He voted against striking $500 million for Israeli Cooperative Programs in 2025, and against the July 2026 amendment that would have barred the year's funds for Israel and cut $3.3 billion from Foreign Military Financing, taken at a reported 73,246 killed. His research page carries his committee work on campus antisemitism, which is a separate question.

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

Research

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

U.S. aid to Palestinians

Characterization of the conflict

Related rhetoric and lobbying

Safety and antisemitism (context)

Race and status context

Consulted

Also in this race: Jim Bronke (Green), Ronald A. Muszynski (Libertarian), Sharon Marie Renier (Other), Christian Vukasovich (Democrat) · All Michigan candidates.

See the full record →

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.