But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Lisa C. McClain
- Backed with $30K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by AIPAC
As Republican Conference chair, McClain welcomed a 2026 funding bill that blocks U.S. money for UNRWA, which aids Palestinian refugees, saying taxpayers had been made to "bankroll hostile regimes". In 2022 she said the U.S. "must always support the Iron Dome".
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You asked Lisa C. McClain where they stand.
Deep Dive
McClain represents Michigan’s 9th District and chairs the House Republican Conference, which makes her a spokesperson for the House majority as well as a member.
Her clearest current-position act on this question is in that role. On July 15, 2026 she issued the Conference’s statement welcoming House passage of the FY2027 national security and State Department funding bill: "For too long, taxpayers were forced to bankroll hostile regimes, broken international organizations, and radical programs that made our country weaker. House Republicans are restoring strength and making every dollar serve a clear national purpose." The same release sets out what the bill does: it "blocks funding for UNRWA, the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice" and cuts $1.8 billion from United Nations and international peacekeeping contributions. UNRWA is the U.N. agency that delivers aid to Palestinian refugees, so this is a position on U.S. money to Palestinians, and the direction is to stop it.
On the other recipient, her one located statement is older. In an August 2022 post she wrote: "Israel is a great ally of the United States, and we must always support the Iron Dome that has saved countless lives." That is a call to keep U.S. money flowing to Israeli missile defence, and it predates October 2023, so the card carries it as record rather than as a current position.
In April 2024 she said "Iran is an enemy of the free world, and Israel has every right to defend itself". Her statements from October and November 2023 fall inside the months after October 7, 2023 and are on the research page. Her recorded votes on the tracked bills and her funding from pro-Israel committees are shown separately on this card.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 5 of 5 tracked votes
• Her campaign site, read in full on this date, is four pages; its "On the Issues" section on the Meet Lisa page sets out eleven headings: economy and red tape, securing our borders, agriculture, the Second Amendment, military, mental health, healthcare, religious freedom, law enforcement, right to life and the Great Lakes. None of them mentions Israel, Gaza, UNRWA, foreign aid or U.S. military assistance to any country; the "MILITARY" heading carries text about the mental-health crisis, duplicating the section beneath it.
• Her official National Security/Military issue page, read in full on this date, names China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the threats it addresses and mentions Israel once, only as an ally Iran targets; it says nothing about U.S. weapons, U.S. funding or U.S. humanitarian aid in this conflict in either direction.
• Her official press-release archive, paged through in full on this date (29 listing pages, 286 releases from January 2021 to 14 July 2026), carries 145 releases dated between 25 October 2023 and 14 July 2026, of which exactly two reference Israel or Hamas in their titles: a 7 October 2025 statement on the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks and an 8 October 2025 statement on the ceasefire. Both were read in full and are expressions of support and of relief at the hostages' release, neither mentioning U.S. weapons, U.S. money to the government of Israel, or U.S. aid to Palestinians.
• As House Republican Conference Chairwoman she issued the Conference's statement welcoming House passage of H.R. 8595, the FY2027 national-security and State Department appropriations bill, saying taxpayers had been made to bankroll hostile regimes and international organisations; the same release states that the bill blocks U.S. funding for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that delivers aid to Palestinian refugees, and cuts $1.8 billion from U.S. contributions to the United Nations and international peacekeeping.
• In a post on her own X account she said the United States must always support Iron Dome, the U.S.-funded Israeli missile-defence system. This was a call to keep U.S. money flowing to Israeli missile defence, made before 7 October 2023.
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 5 of 5 tracked votes.)
The money
$30K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
AIPAC (2026 endorsement)
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; VERIFIED]: As House Republican Conference Chairwoman she issued the Conference's statement welcoming House passage of the FY2027 national security and State Department appropriations bill. Her words: "America became the strongest, safest, and most prosperous nation in the world because we put America first. For too long, taxpayers were forced to bankroll hostile regimes, broken international organizations, and radical programs that made our country weaker. House Republicans are restoring strength and making every dollar serve a clear national purpose." The release itself states the bill "cuts $1.8 billion from United Nations and international peacekeeping contributions" and "blocks funding for UNRWA, the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice". Read in full.
⚠ **ATTRIBUTION SPLIT.** The quoted sentences are hers, marked "Chairwoman McClain said". The description of what the bill blocks is the release's, not a quotation from her. The card keeps them separate. The release also carries a statement from Rep. Diaz-Balart, so it is a multi-speaker document and her attribution was checked on the page rather than assumed.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2022-08-05 [Earlier record, before the current period; card-closing as history]: On her own account she wrote: "Israel is a great ally of the United States, and we must always support the Iron Dome that has saved countless lives." (source) A call to continue U.S. funding for Israeli missile defence. Carried at the end of the card, phrased as history, which is what the banding rule allows for prior-band material.
- 2020-11-24 [Earlier record]: In an interview with Jewish News Syndicate she described the U.S. and Israel relationship as "imperative" and mutually beneficial.
- 2023-11-15 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: As Conference Chair she criticised delays in passing standalone emergency defence aid for Israel, saying "As Israel defends its right to exist, U.S. support is indispensable", and urged immediate federal backing for systems including Iron Dome. This is her most specific in-scope statement about U.S. weapons and it is inside the months after October 7, 2023, so it does not appear on the card.
- 2024-05 [Current position; CLAIM NOT SUPPORTED BY ITS SOURCE]: An initial search reported that after House action on legislation to force release of delayed defence shipments she said: "I just wish some of my counterparts across the aisle would stop siding with terrorist groups and actually stand with our allies." The source it cited was opened and read and does not contain that quote or anything about withholding shipments. Excluded. What that page does carry is the April 2024 quote below, plus its own summary of her voting record.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2024-04-19 [Current position; VERIFIED]: "Iran is an enemy of the free world, and Israel has every right to defend itself" (Bridge Michigan).
- 2023-10-08 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: She condemned the October 7 attacks as terrorism and reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself.
- 2024-01-26 [Current position, on its first day]: A Conference release marking the attacks.
- 2025-01-30 [Current position]: Her statement on the Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal.
- 2025-10-07 [Current position]: Her statement on the second anniversary of the attacks. The record's existing research notes this and the ceasefire statement are expressions of support and of relief at the hostages' release, and that neither mentions U.S. weapons, U.S. money to the government of Israel, or U.S. aid to Palestinians.
- Undated [Current position]: A video on her House Facebook page titled "America must always stand by our ally Israel", with no retrievable text.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- No statement located on domestic pro-Israel lobbying organisations.
Safety and antisemitism
- 2025-05-07 and 2025-07-15 [Current position; context only, never the answer to what America sends]: She published an op-ed calling for accountability on campus antisemitism beyond the Ivy League, and pressed university presidents at a congressional hearing. Also covered by a student newspaper. Campus antisemitism is explicitly out of scope for cards under the content rule and is recorded here as context.
- Two PBS NewsHour pages on congressional antisemitism hearings returned 202 and do not name her; one advocacy Facebook post about her questioning a chancellor would not open. Two YouTube urls carry no retrievable text.
What came back empty or unusable
- The record's existing research notes her campaign site's eleven issue headings include no mention of Israel, Gaza, UNRWA, foreign aid or U.S. military assistance to any country, and that her official National Security page names China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as its subjects and mentions Israel once, only as an ally Iran targets.
- It also records that her official press-release archive was paged through in full, 286 releases from January 2021 to July 2026, and that of the 145 dated after 25 October 2023 exactly two reference Israel or Hamas in their titles.
- One source found led to no url at all (deadlinedetroit.com).
Also in this race
- ✓Opposes Ray Pooley (Democrat)
- –No Position Found Kevin Vayko (Libertarian)
- –No Position Found Destiny Clayton (Green)
- ?Mixed Jim Walkowicz (Other)
- –No Position Found John Vlahos (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.