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

Teresa Leger Fernandez

Democrat · U.S. House, New Mexico District 3
?Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes

Leger Fernández voted in 2026 to cut $3.3 billion from U.S. aid to Israel: “Peace cannot be built with more bombs”, opposing “blank checks for offensive military assistance to Netanyahu’s government”. In April 2024 she backed the supplemental as defensive-only while condemning the military’s “indiscriminate and immoral bombing” in Gaza.

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Deep Dive

Leger Fernández has represented New Mexico’s 3rd District since 2021. Her six recorded votes, mixed across the tracked bills, appear as badges on this card: No on three aid measures, Yes on the April 2024 supplemental, No on the amendment to cut $500 million for Israeli missile-defense programs, Yes on the 2026 amendment to cut $3.3 billion from aid to Israel.

Her April 2024 supplemental vote came with sharp conditions. Her statement: "I strongly condemn how Prime Minister Netanyahu has conducted this war. His military has engaged in indiscriminate and immoral bombing of children and families in Gaza", while noting the administration’s commitment that the aid "will only be used to replenish the Iron Dome and missile defense systems used to protect Israeli civilians", backed by a delegation letter demanding enforcement.

By July 2026 she voted to cut $3.3 billion: "Peace cannot be built with more bombs... the United States cannot continue writing blank checks for offensive military assistance to Netanyahu’s government as he causes such death and destruction for innocent Palestinian civilians". The same statement holds both sides of her frame: "Israel has the right to exist and to live in security. Both sides deserve to practice their religion and faith." In September 2025 she co-sponsored the Block the Bombs Act restricting offensive transfers.

In February 2025 she joined 143 House Democrats urging President Trump to retract his Gaza-relocation comments, the letter calling October 7 "the deadliest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust" while opposing forced displacement. Her November 2023 statement is on the research page.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✓ 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. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
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
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
✓ Voted Yes
voted to limit or block 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
Notable actions

• Vote record imported from official House Clerk roll calls for H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034, and H.R. 8369. Other position fields remain under investigation.

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.

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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 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$10K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $7,900 · DMFI: $2,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$7,900The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.DMFI PAC$2,000Democratic Majority for Israel's PAC; calls itself the home for pro-Israel Democrats and backs Democratic candidates who support a strong U.S. alliance with the government of Israel.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.

In their words

“Peace cannot be built with more bombs. Congress has a responsibility to make sure American taxpayer dollars reflect American laws, American values, and our commitment to human rights.”
Source ↗, 2026-07-15
“I strongly condemn how Prime Minister Netanyahu has conducted this war. His military has engaged in indiscriminate and immoral bombing of children and families in Gaza that has directly led to a massive humanitarian crisis.”
Source ↗, 2024-04-20

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

  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-03] Her support for humanitarian assistance appears in an October 2023 to January 2024 statement; not on the card summary. Post-window, her aid demands appear within the statements above.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2024-04-20] The indiscriminate-bombing condemnation, verified.
  • [Position, 2026-07-15] The right-to-exist and both-sides passages, verified.
  • [Context, 2021-05-18] Her statement on the 2021 escalation, verified by date: both peoples free from terror, violence, and fear.
  • [Action, 2025-02-13] The forced-displacement letter, verified; joint letter language attributed to the signatories collectively.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Context, 2021] Jewish Insider reported she declined a 2021 AIEF freshman delegation to Israel and profiled her multicultural approach to Jewish community relations; reported, not confirmed directly.
  • Tracked committee support appears as badges on this card.

Safety and antisemitism

  • [Reported, 2024-04-17] Her floor remarks during the antisemitism-legislation debate and her account of UNM Jewish students’ harassment reports are carried only on Reddit threads; unused. The February 2025 letter’s Holocaust framing is verified above.

Race and status context

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

Also in this race

  1. – Martin Zamora (Republican)

All New Mexico 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.