But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Betty McCollum

Democrat · U.S. House, Minnesota District 4
?Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 5 tracked votes

McCollum, author of the recurring bill barring U.S. aid from funding Israeli military detention of Palestinian children, said in October 2024: “I strongly support conditioning our aid to any nation that intentionally starves innocent civilians”. She has long feuded with AIPAC over its attack ads.

✉  Copy a message to send them

We don’t have a campaign email on file yet. Copy this message and send it through their website or a public social account.

If you send this from your own email, cc replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org so we can post their answer.

✆  Call DC office

Deep Dive

McCollum has represented Minnesota’s 4th District since 2001. Her recorded votes appear as badges on this card: Yes on the April 2024 package, No on the other three aid bills, No on the amendment to cut $500 million for Israeli missile-defense programs; on the 2026 amendment to cut $3.3 billion from aid to Israel she voted present, per TC Jewfolk’s vote report.

Her signature position is two decades of legislation on Palestinian children’s rights: her recurring bill would bar U.S. aid from funding Israeli military detention of children, home demolitions, or annexation: "Not $1 of U.S. aid should be used to commit human rights violations, demolish families’ homes, or permanently annex Palestinian lands... those dollars should go toward Israel’s security, not toward actions that violate international law." In October 2024 she backed U.S. pressure on Israel over humanitarian access: "I strongly support conditioning our aid to any nation that intentionally starves innocent civilians in violation of international humanitarian law."

Her conflict with AIPAC is its own record: after a 2006 dispute in which she said an AIPAC representative accused her office of supporting terrorism, she suspended contact with the organization, per the Forward’s contemporaneous report; in February 2020 she called AIPAC’s Facebook ads "hate speech" that made it "a hate group" on her own site, and she repeated the criticism over 2023 ceasefire-related ads. Her December 2023 present vote on the antisemitism-and-anti-Zionism resolution is on the research page; she supports a two-state solution and has condemned Hamas’s October 7 attacks while criticizing Israel’s protection of civilians as falling short, per her own statements.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 5 tracked votes · Backs 1 of 1 tracked bills to restrict weapons transfers

Committees

House Committee on Appropriations

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 8034 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-04-20 · Passed 366-58
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8369 - Israel Security Assistance Support Act2024-05-16 · Passed 224-187
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 8595 - Massie amendment (Part A No. 8) to bar FY27 funds for Israel and cut $3.3B in Foreign Military Financing2026-07-15 · Failed 104-314
– Present
H.Amdt. 55 to H.R. 4016 - strike $500M for Israeli Cooperative Programs2025-07-18 · Failed 6-422 (only 6 voted to cut)
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
Bill sponsorship
H.R. 3565 - Block the Bombs ActWould bar transfer of 2,000-lb/BLU-109 bunker busters, JDAMs, 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells to Israel. Does not affect Iron
Co-sponsorbacks this bill to restrict weapons transfers
H.R. 1229 - United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025Formalizes/expands bilateral defense cooperation with Israel.
Not sponsoringhas not backed this support bill
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 some, but no more than half, of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 5 tracked votes.)

The money

Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found

2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-09-27) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
✓ Endorsed by A New Policy PAC
A New Policy PACA group backing congressional candidates who want a new U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine grounded in U.S. and international law, including conditions on military aid.These endorsements come from groups that push to restrict or end U.S. weapons transfers to the government of Israel. Endorsements from these groups are shown for information; they do not decide the mark.

In their words

“I strongly support conditioning our aid to any nation that intentionally starves innocent civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.”
Source ↗, 2024-10-16
“Not $1 of U.S. aid should be used to commit human rights violations, demolish families’ homes, or permanently annex Palestinian lands.”
Source ↗, 2025-05-21
Endorsements

A New Policy PAC (2026 endorsement)

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

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Her children’s-rights legislation above carries this section; humanitarian access is its stated object.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position] Her occupation characterization ("a system of violence and repression") and Sheikh Jarrah criticism, per her bill statements; on her own pages, reported by listing.
  • Her October 7 condemnation paired with the woefully-short criticism of civilian protection; her own statements, reported by listing.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Episode, 2006] The AIPAC suspension-of-contact dispute, per the Forward’s report, verified; the terrorism accusation is her account of the exchange.
  • [Position, 2020-02-12] The hate-group statement, verified by page and title; the characterization is hers.
  • Her 2023 criticism of AIPAC ads over ceasefire positions is not on the card summary because of its date.

Safety and antisemitism

  • Her December 6, 2023 present-vote statement on H.Res. 894 is not on the card summary; it argued the resolution failed to address antisemitism tangibly.
  • [Statement, 2025-08] Her hate-and-antisemitism-have-no-place post after a Minneapolis incident; her own social account, held for human verification.

Sources retrieved for this card

Race and status context

  • Sitting member, nominated. Her Republican challenger’s card carries its own record.

Also in this race

  1. ? Paul Wikstrom (Republican)

All Minnesota candidates.

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.