But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Patrick Ryan
- ✓ Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
- Backed with $30K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Sits on House Armed Services
Ryan announced on July 15, 2026: "I just voted to block sending $3.3 billion of our taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu’s government". He said the vote is not "an abandonment of the state of Israel or the Jewish people", and offered refunds to donors who ask.
The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.
You asked Patrick Ryan where they stand.
Deep Dive
Ryan represents New York’s 18th District and is running for re-election. His position on this changed in the middle of the campaign, publicly and with an explanation, which is unusual enough to set out in his own words.
On July 15, 2026 he posted: "I just voted to block sending $3.3 billion of our taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu’s government." He was one of more than a hundred House Democrats who backed Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to cut military aid to Israel, which failed. He said he would no longer support that annual aid to what he called a corrupt and increasingly dangerous Netanyahu government, and drew a line around what the vote meant: it "does not represent an abandonment of the state of Israel or the Jewish people. It does not deny the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization."
He had been endorsed by AIPAC. After the vote he told Jewish Insider: "I am grateful for any individual donor who has supported my campaign. My position is clear and if an individual requests a refund, I will happily provide it." His funding from pro-Israel committees is shown separately on this card.
His earlier position pointed the other way and included both recipients. In April 2024 he supported security aid to democratic allies including Israel while pressing for more than $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, and in February 2024 he called for a mutual temporary ceasefire to return the hostages and surge humanitarian aid into Gaza. His recorded votes on the tracked bills are shown separately on this card.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
House Committee on Armed Services
• 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.
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 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$30K 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]: His own post, quoted by Hudson Valley One: "I just voted to block sending $3.3 billion of our taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu's government." Direction is unambiguous and the recipient is named by him.
- 2026-07-17 [Current position; VERIFIED]: Jewish Insider reports he would no longer back "$3.3 billion in annual military aid to 'a corrupt and increasingly dangerous Netanyahu regime'", and quotes him qualifying the vote: it "does not represent an abandonment of the state of Israel or the Jewish people. It does not deny the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization."
⚠ **AN INITIAL SEARCH’S QUOTE FOR THIS IS WRONG.** It reported that he described the aid as "wrong on every level". That phrase is not in the article it cited, read in full. His actual wording is the "corrupt and increasingly dangerous Netanyahu regime" formulation above. The card uses his verified words instead. ⚠ **AN INITIAL SEARCH’S IRON DOME QUALIFIER IS UNVERIFIED.** It stated that he clarified he continues to support defensive systems like the Iron Dome and Israel's fundamental right to self-defence. Two sources were opened, Jewish Insider and Hudson Valley One, and neither mentions Iron Dome, defensive systems or self-defence. The card carries his verified qualifier instead, which does similar work in his own words. If the Iron Dome clarification exists it should be sourced before use, because it materially narrows his position.
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; VERIFIED]: JTA, via the South African Jewish Report, reports that a slight majority of voting House Democrats backed Rep. Thomas Massie's amendment to cut military aid to Israel, that it failed, and that the party's leadership split, with Minority Whip Katherine Clark voting for it and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries against.
- 2024-04-20 [Current position]: Statement on his House site supporting security aid to democratic allies including Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan against threats from Iran and its proxies, while emphasising his push for more than $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza. This is the position he later moved away from, and both halves of it name a recipient.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- 2024-04-20 [Current position]: The $9 billion humanitarian assistance push above, from the same statement.
- 2024-02-23 [Current position]: Statement calling for a mutual temporary ceasefire to secure the hostages' return and surge humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2023-12-23 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: Statement on the war calling for permanent mutual peace contingent on the safe return of all hostages, the demilitarisation of Hamas, an end to West Bank settler violence, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. Substantive and in scope, and in the months after October 7, 2023, so it does not appear on the card.
- 2024-01-08 [Months after October 7, 2023]: City & State New York on the sustained pro-ceasefire protests he faced.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2026-07-16 and 2026-07-30 [Current position]: The Washington Examiner reported on his refund pledge and on his opponent's demand that he return the money. The roughly $790,000 figure in those headlines is the paper's own review of FEC records, not a figure he or his opponent supplied, and it counts bundled individual donations rather than committee money. It is a different measure from the funding badge on this card, so neither number is restated in the card copy.
- 2026-07-17 [Current position]: JTA on the same.
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends.]
- 2022-11-22 [Earlier record]: A Capitol Hill roundtable on fighting antisemitism.
- 2023-02-14 [Earlier record]: Jewish Insider on his Armed Services Committee work, antisemitism, Iran and Israel.
- 2023-10-20 [Months after October 7, 2023]: He called for increased security measures to combat antisemitism.
- Undated: He condemned an antisemitic incident locally.
Consulted and unusable
- One source found is a Facebook post from a Michigan candidate's page about the Temple Israel attack in West Bloomfield. It would not open, concerns a different state and a different candidate, and has nothing to do with him.
Also in this race
- ✗Supports Jacqueline Auringer (Republican)
All New York candidates.
See everyone on the New York 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.