Tom Cole

Republican · U.S. House, Oklahoma District 4

In May 2024 Cole said he was “outraged at the Biden Administration’s decision to pause very critical weapon transfers to our friend, Israel” and helped draft a bill compelling their delivery. In July 2026, as Appropriations chairman, he backed $3.3 billion in security assistance for the government of Israel.

Tom Cole has represented Oklahoma's 4th District since 2003 and has chaired the House Appropriations Committee since April 2024. He is running for re-election on November 3, 2026 against Mitchell Jacob and Rocco Bonacci. The committee he chairs writes the bills that carry U.S. security assistance, so much of his record on this question is the record of what he has moved through it.

His first act as chairman was to break the stalled national security supplemental into separate bills. On April 17, 2024 he introduced the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act with Reps. Ken Calvert and Mario Diaz-Balart and said in releasing the package that “if we don’t help our friends in time of need, soon enough, we won’t have any friends at all”. His committee's summary of the Israel bill lists interception systems, defensive weapons, artillery and munitions, and the restocking of defense articles already provided.

Three weeks later the administration held back a bomb shipment, and Cole answered it directly. He said the pause was “both dangerous and self-defeating” and that “the United States should not try to dictate its military strategy”, calling on the president to reverse the decision. He was one of four Republicans who drafted the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which would compel delivery of approved defense articles and withhold funds from the Secretaries of Defense and State until suspended items were released. On the day it passed the House he said, “The United States and Israel share an unbreakable alliance, and military aid to eradicate Hamas—an organization of evil that has killed and continues to hold Americans and Israelis hostage—must be delivered without delay.” After Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed Congress that July he said the United States “must continue to stand like a rock with Israel to ensure that the Israelis have the essential resources to defend itself”.

He has not moved from that position. In January 2025 he wrote in the Times of Israel with two committee colleagues that “Israel needs munitions and unwavering support from allied countries” and listed what the United States has already supplied. Leading floor debate on the FY2027 national security appropriations bill on July 15, 2026 he said it “reinforces support for key allies – like Israel and Taiwan”; the subcommittee chairman said in the same release that the bill fully funds the United States-Israel Memorandum of Understanding with $3.3 billion in security assistance. His campaign site lists eight issues and none of them is Israel or foreign aid. The rest of what was read, including his October 2024 trip to the region, his writing on antisemitism, and an advocacy group's account of his funding, is on his research page.

Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 6 of 6 recorded votes.

Research

One search, run on 2026-08-21, was read as a lead list for this card. Every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-07 unless marked otherwise, and his congressional newsroom, the Appropriations Committee newsroom and his campaign site were read as well. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. This card replaces an older summary of his record; every quotation and every action in it was checked again at the source. His recorded House votes and the funding total are shown as badges on this card and are not re-counted here.

U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel

U.S. aid to Palestinians

Characterization of the conflict

Related rhetoric and lobbying

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)

The race

Not on the card, and why

Sources read for this card (address; opened or could not open; date read)

Also in this race: Rocco Bonacci (Independent), Mitchell Jacob (Democrat) · All Oklahoma candidates.

See the full record →

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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.