But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Kristen McDonald Rivet
McDonald Rivet says the U.S. should stop selling offensive weapons to the Netanyahu government. She voted against the Massie amendment that day and against the bill, calling the amendment "poorly drafted and overly broad". She has also pressed Israel to allow a humanitarian aid surge into Gaza.
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You asked Kristen McDonald Rivet where they stand.
Deep Dive
McDonald Rivet represents Michigan’s 8th District and is running for re-election.
Her position and her vote look opposed until you read the statement, so here it is. On July 15, 2026, after a vote on a foreign-operations appropriations package, she said: "The Netanyahu government’s reckless actions have caused needless pain, suffering, and instability across the Middle East. It’s past time for America to fundamentally rethink how we can best create safety, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians, which begins with holding our partners accountable and stopping the sale of offensive weapons to the Netanyahu government." She then explained why she opposed the vehicle in front of her: "Today’s ‘Massie amendment’ is not the answer. It is poorly drafted and overly broad, with counterproductive consequences for aid, the important peace-building programs, and the safety of Americans serving abroad. I voted against the amendment and the bill itself."
So she wants U.S. offensive weapons sales to the Israeli government stopped, and she did not think that amendment would do it well.
On the other direction of American money she has acted twice. She was one of more than a hundred members who signed a letter to the Secretary of State in August 2025 urging the administration to demand that Israel let a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, naming infant formula and equipment to treat child malnutrition. The letter frames the shortage as a problem of access rather than of U.S. funding. She is also an original cosponsor of H.Res. 473, which calls on U.S. agencies to use every diplomatic tool to get food and humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, alongside the release of the hostages and a durable end to the war.
Her recorded votes on the tracked bills and her funding from pro-Israel committees are shown separately on this card. Her campaign site publishes no issues page at all.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes
• Her campaign site, read on this date, publishes no issues or platform page at all: the biography page's "View Kristen's Priorities" button points to /priorities, which leads to a missing page. The homepage, biography page and campaign news index contain no mention of Israel, Gaza, UNRWA, foreign aid or U.S. military assistance.
• In a statement on her official House site she said the United States should stop the sale of offensive weapons to the Netanyahu government and hold its partners accountable, while calling the Massie amendment the wrong vehicle because she judged it poorly drafted and overly broad, with counterproductive consequences for aid, peace-building programmes and Americans serving abroad.
• She was one of 101 members who signed the Pressley-Pettersen letter to Secretary of State Rubio urging the administration to demand that the Israeli government immediately allow a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including ready-to-feed infant formula and medical equipment; the letter states the shortage is a crisis of access rather than of U.S. funding.
• She is an original cosponsor of H.Res. 473, dated the day it was introduced; the resolution text calls on the White House, the State Department and other U.S. government agencies to use all available diplomatic tools to secure the immediate and secure delivery and disbursement of the necessary food and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, alongside the release of the hostages and a durable end to the conflict in Gaza.
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 2 of 2 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
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; VERIFIED]: Statement on her official House site following a vote on a foreign-operations appropriations package. In full: "The Netanyahu government's reckless actions have caused needless pain, suffering, and instability across the Middle East. It's past time for America to fundamentally rethink how we can best create safety, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians, which begins with holding our partners accountable and stopping the sale of offensive weapons to the Netanyahu government. Today's 'Massie amendment' is not the answer. It is poorly drafted and overly broad, with counterproductive consequences for aid, the important peace-building programs, and the safety of Americans serving abroad. I voted against the amendment and the bill itself."
⚠ **BADGE VERSUS POSITION, AND SHE RESOLVED IT HERSELF.** Her tracked-vote badge records a No on the bill. Read alone that could be taken either way. Her own statement says she voted against both the amendment and the bill and wants offensive weapons sales to the Netanyahu government stopped. Our writing rules permit characterizing a vote when the candidate has spoken about it, and she has, at length, on her own site.
- Undated [Current position]: An initial search reports she has argued U.S. assistance should emphasise medical and humanitarian relief for civilians and that military action should be directed at Hamas rather than the general Palestinian population. No separate source page was offered for this summary.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- 2025-08-26 [Current position]: One of more than 100 signatories to a letter to Secretary of State Rubio, led by Reps. Pressley and Pettersen, urging the administration to demand that the Israeli government immediately facilitate a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, "including but not limited to baby formula and medical equipment required to treat infant and child malnourishment". The record's existing research notes the letter frames the shortage as a crisis of access rather than of U.S. funding, which is why this is an aid-pipeline position rather than an appropriations one.
- Undated [Current position]: Original cosponsor of H.Res. 473, whose text calls on the White House, the State Department and other agencies to use all available diplomatic tools to secure delivery of food and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, alongside the release of hostages and a durable end to the conflict. Recorded from earlier research; an initial search supplied no url for the resolution.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; VERIFIED]: "The Netanyahu government's reckless actions have caused needless pain, suffering, and instability across the Middle East."
- 2025-02-13 [Current position]: Co-signed a congressional letter on Gaza policy affirming an "unwavering" commitment to Israel's security while supporting an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and a realistic plan to make Gaza livable. The nearest source page an initial search attached is a letter PDF hosted by another member's office, which an initial search records as not naming her in the text we could read. A multi-signatory document, so her signature is not independently confirmed here.
- 2025-10-10 [Current position; SOURCE DID NOT OPEN]: An initial search reports a social media post welcoming the Israel and Hamas agreement, the release of hostages, the end of active combat operations and a surge of humanitarian aid, and saying work remained so that Israelis and Palestinians can be "safe, free, and prosperous". Its source page is her House Facebook page, which would not open.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2026-02-13 [Current position]: A congressional delegation trip to Tel Aviv, recorded on a travel disclosure page, to examine the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories and discuss U.S. Middle East policy.
- 2026-04-21 [Current position]: She condemned floor activity at the Michigan Democratic Party state convention over the nomination of a candidate who had praised Hezbollah leaders and Qasem Soleimani, calling such views "out of step with my values and those of Democrats across our state" (Jewish Insider). A statement about her own party's internal politics, not about what the United States sends.
- [Consulted]: A Peace Action donation page for her appears twice in the sources. An advocacy fundraising page is recorded as consulted and never carries a card.
Safety and antisemitism
- 2026-04-21 [Current position; context only, never the answer to what America sends]: At the same convention she called the hostility directed at pro-Israel figures "deeply troubling" and warned against normalising antisemitic tropes and political extremism.
What came back empty or unusable
- The record's existing research notes her campaign site publishes no issues or platform page at all: the "View Kristen's Priorities" button leads to a missing page, and the homepage, biography and news index contain no mention of Israel, Gaza, UNRWA, foreign aid or U.S. military assistance. Everything on this card comes from her official House output instead.
- One source found led to no url at all (deadlinedetroit.com).
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Thomas J. Smith (Republican)
- –No Position Found C. Mia Pettus (Libertarian)
- –No Position Found Jim Casha (Green)
- –No Position Found Kathy Goodwin (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.