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

John Joyce

Republican · U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 13
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Joyce said the April 2024 security package provides the weapons the government of Israel needs to defeat Hamas. A month later he helped introduce a bill barring federal funds from being used to withhold U.S. weapons deliveries to the government of Israel. His statements on the question stop in 2024.

✉  Copy a message to send them

The only address on file for this campaign is its compliance or filing contact, which will not answer a policy question. 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 officeWebsite ↗X ↗Instagram ↗

Deep Dive

The April 2024 statement is the fullest thing he has said. Writing after the vote on the four-bill national security package, he said the Israel bill provides the weapons that Israel will need to defeat Hamas and Iranian proxies, and that it enables "our greatest ally and the only democracy in the region" to protect itself. The same statement drew a line: he said it is not the job of the United States to bankroll Ukrainian officials' pay and pensions while the border is unsecured, and that he did not support the Ukraine supplemental. On Israel he set no such condition.

A month later he put his name to the bill that followed the administration's decision to hold back a shipment of bombs. The Israel Security Assistance Support Act bars Defense and State Department money from being used to withhold, halt, reverse or cancel a weapons delivery to the government of Israel, orders anything already withheld delivered within fifteen days, and freezes unobligated departmental funds until that is certified to Congress. It was introduced on May 14, 2024 by Rep. Ken Calvert of California, and Joyce is one of about 120 members named in the introducing list.

His earlier record runs through a single long interview. Asked in February 2019 by Jewish News Syndicate, a Jewish news outlet, what he made of U.S. funding for the military of the government of Israel, he answered that he wanted to do everything positive for Israel and pledged to do everything possible for it as a freshman. Asked in the same interview about U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, he said it was something he would need to research and that he could not give an answer. Nothing found since has him returning to the question of U.S. aid to Palestinians.

Since May 2024 he has not spoken about U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel. His congressional newsroom carries no Israel item after that date, and his campaign site is a biography page with no issues section. His March 2026 statement on the U.S. strikes on Iran does not mention Israel. A post on his account is reported to have carried a sentence about that May 2024 vote; the page no longer opens, so nothing from it is used, and the rest is on his research page.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✗ Voted Yes
supported 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 Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✗ Voted Yes
supported 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 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
Not sponsoringhas not backed this restriction bill
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.

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 6 of 6 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 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

In their words

“This bill provides the weapons that Israel will need to defeat the Hamas terrorists and Iranian proxies that have destabilized the Middle East. Enabling our greatest ally and the only democracy in the region to protect themselves from the unprovoked attacks that have occurred over the past six months.”
Source ↗, 2024-04-20
“I want to do everything that's positive for Israel.”
Source ↗, 2019-02-07
“I make that pledge to do everything possible as a freshman congressman for Israel.”
Source ↗, 2019-02-07
“As a freshman who was sworn in recently, it's something that I would need to research, so I can't give you an answer to that.”
Source ↗, 2019-02-07
“The United States has had a strong pro-Israel stance, and I continue to support that.”
Source ↗, 2019-02-07

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

Research for this card began on 2026-08-21, and every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-07 unless marked otherwise. His congressional newsroom was read in full across thirteen listing pages, from May 2022 to September 1, 2026, with every 2024 to 2026 item listed by title and date, and his National Security issues page and campaign site were read. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07). John Joyce, a Republican and a dermatologist by training, has represented Pennsylvania's 13th district, which runs across twelve counties of south-central Pennsylvania, since January 2019, and is the 2026 Republican nominee for the seat. This card replaces an older one-sentence summary; everything below was checked again from the sources.

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

  • [Position, 2024-04-20] His own statement after voting on the national security package, published on his congressional site and timestamped April 20, 2024. In full, the Israel paragraph reads: "This bill provides the weapons that Israel will need to defeat the Hamas terrorists and Iranian proxies that have destabilized the Middle East. Enabling our greatest ally and the only democracy in the region to protect themselves from the unprovoked attacks that have occurred over the past six months." The statement opens by blaming the need for the package on President Biden's "weak and ineffective leadership" and closes by saying "it is not the job of the United States to bankroll the paychecks and pensions of Ukrainian officials while our border remains unsecured and inflation continues to skyrocket", and that for that reason he did not support the Ukrainian aid supplemental. He attaches no comparable condition to the Israel money.
  • [Position, 2024-05-14] He is in the introducing list of H.R. 8369, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act. The bill as introduced was brought by Rep. Ken Calvert of California with about 120 other members, and the list names "Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania" separately from "Mr. Joyce of Ohio". Section 4 bars money appropriated to the Departments of Defense and State for fiscal 2024 or earlier from being used "to withhold, halt, reverse, or cancel the delivery of defense articles or defense services from the United States to Israel", or to pay the salary of any official who acts to further such a withholding. Section 5 requires prompt delivery of what was expected in fiscal 2024 and 2025 and delivery within fifteen days of anything already withheld. Section 6 withholds unobligated balances from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State and the National Security Council until that delivery is certified to the Appropriations Committees. The House passed it on May 16, 2024.
  • [Position, reported 2024-05-16, source dead] A post said to be from his account, at https://www.facebook.com/RepJohnJoyce/posts/president-bidens-decision-to-turn-his-back-on-our-strongest-ally-in-the-middle-e/847386000541081/ , is reported to have said "Today, I voted to force the President to deliver the defense weapons that Israel needs". The page returns an error and no other source for the sentence could be found, so the words are not used and the address is not linked.
  • [Earlier record, 2019-02-07] In an interview with Jewish News Syndicate, a Jewish news outlet, asked "What is your take on U.S. funding for Israel's military, especially in the aftermath of the latest Israeli conflicts against Hamas and Hezbollah?", he answered: "I want to do everything that's positive for Israel. As I said at the beginning of the conversation, Israel is a stronghold of democracy in the Middle East." He went on to describe Israel as a people's government that protects its citizens, a sentence carrying a dash inside it, and finished: "I make that pledge to do everything possible as a freshman congressman for Israel." Asked separately about his overall stance, he said: "The United States has had a strong pro-Israel stance, and I continue to support that."
  • [Position, 2025 and 2026] Nothing located. Every press release on his newsroom from January 2024 to September 1, 2026 was listed by title and date, and the only Israel item in that span is the April 20, 2024 statement above. His National Security issues page is about the military, the Homeland Security Committee and China and lists no Israel item beyond that same statement. His campaign site has no issues page.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • [Earlier record, 2019-02-07] In the same interview, asked "What is your take on U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority?", he answered: "As a freshman who was sworn in recently, it's something that I would need to research, so I can't give you an answer to that."
  • Nothing located at any later date. No release, statement or interview found since addresses UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2024-04-20] In his own statement he calls Israel "our greatest ally and the only democracy in the region", describes "the unprovoked attacks that have occurred over the past six months", and names Hamas and Iranian proxies as the destabilizing forces.
  • [Earlier record, 2019-02-07] In the Jewish News Syndicate interview, on the boycott question: "I am pro-Israel. There are no instances I can validate a boycott of Israel." The article's web address carries an older headline quoting a sentence that does not appear in the article; only what the article prints is used.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-10-07] A statement collected by CBS News Pittsburgh in its roundup of Pennsylvania officials' reactions to the Hamas attack, reproduced from his own post: "The heinous Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, especially on its civilians, must be condemned. The United States will always stand with the State of Israel and the Israeli people. Please join me in praying for all of the Israeli citizens who are in harm's way." Not on the card summary; recorded here.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2024-04-16] He is among 145 cosponsors of a bipartisan resolution led by Rep. Randy Weber of Texas condemning the Iranian government, introduced after Iran's direct attack on Israel. Weber's release lists "John Joyce (PA-13)" in the cosponsor list. The quoted language in that release about "the head of the snake of war and terror in the Middle East" is Weber's own, not Joyce's; Joyce is not quoted on the page.
  • [Position, 2026-03-01] A White House release collecting members' reactions to U.S. strikes on Iran quotes him: "Today, @POTUS took decisive action making targeted strikes against Iran to ensure that they will never achieve nuclear weapons capability. God bless the brave men and women who carried out this operation, and God bless America." It does not mention Israel. The same page separately quotes Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio at length, which is the identity collision this card had to watch for.
  • [Earlier record, 2020-01-15] At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on U.S.-Iran tensions, the official transcript records him saying "Weakness and appeasement of Iran by the previous administration left the United States in a weaker position in the region, and led to a deeply-flawed Iran deal." His questions in that hearing concern Iran, its proxies and homeland security, and do not mention Israel. A reported claim had him citing Iranian missiles inscribed "Israel should be wiped off the Earth"; the transcript shows that sentence in the opening statement of Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, not Joyce.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not an answer to what the United States sends)

  • [Earlier record, 2019-02-07] In the Jewish News Syndicate interview he says he was proud to vote for H.R. 221, which established a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism worldwide, and describes the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh through a close friend from the city.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-20] He signed a letter to the chief executive of TikTok demanding action on antisemitic content and terrorist propaganda. Rep. August Pfluger's release prints the letter's language, including "This deluge of pro-terrorist content is driving hateful antisemitic rhetoric and violent protests on campuses across the country", and names John Joyce among the 25 signers. Those are the letter's collective words, not his alone. Rep. Buddy Carter's release on the same letter carries the same text. Not on the card summary; recorded here.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-12-07] He signed an open letter with five other Pennsylvania Republican members calling on the University of Pennsylvania's trustees to remove President Liz Magill after her congressional testimony on campus antisemitism. A Fox News account republished on Rep. Lloyd Smucker's site, dated December 8, 2023, names him among the signers and quotes the letter calling her conduct "an utter disgrace to our commonwealth and the entire nation". The Philadelphia Inquirer's live coverage of the same day reports the letter too, naming only Rep. Guy Reschenthaler among the signers. Collective wording, and not on the card summary; recorded here.

Not on the card, and why

  • The October 2023 statement, the November 2023 TikTok letter and the December 2023 University of Pennsylvania letter fall in the weeks this site records here rather than on cards.
  • The Iran material, in the 2020 hearing, the April 2024 resolution and the March 2026 statement, is a different question from what the United States sends.
  • The reported May 2024 post: its page no longer opens, so nothing in it is used and its address is not linked.
  • The antisemitism material is context and does not answer what the United States sends.
  • The Weber resolution's quoted language belongs to Rep. Weber; the missile-inscription sentence belongs to Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama. Neither is attributed to Joyce anywhere here.
  • The recorded vote rows and the funding total on this record: the card does not restate them in prose.

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

  • https://johnjoyce.house.gov/media/press-releases/dr-joyces-statement-national-security-legislation (opened; 2026-09-07; timestamped April 20, 2024)
  • https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr8369ih/html/BILLS-118hr8369ih.htm (opened; 2026-09-07; H.R. 8369 as introduced May 14, 2024)
  • https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/pennsylvania-rep-john-joyce-vows-to-support-a-strong-israel-bds-supporters-need-to-get-lost (opened; 2026-09-07; published February 7, 2019)
  • https://johnjoyce.house.gov/media/press-releases (opened; 2026-09-07; thirteen listing pages, May 2022 to September 1, 2026)
  • https://johnjoyce.house.gov/issues/national-security (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.johnjoyceforcongress.com (opened; 2026-09-07; a single biography page, no issues section)
  • https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/03/peace-through-strength-president-trump-launches-operation-epic-fury-to-crush-iranian-regime-end-nuclear-threat/ (opened; 2026-09-07; dated March 1, 2026)
  • https://weber.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1971 (opened; 2026-09-07; dated April 16, 2024)
  • https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg41269/html/CHRG-116hhrg41269.htm (opened; 2026-09-07; hearing of January 15, 2020)
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pennsylvania-leaders-issue-statements-condemning-hamas-attack-in-israel/ (opened; 2026-09-07; dated October 7, 2023)
  • https://pfluger.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=950 (opened; 2026-09-07; dated November 20, 2023)
  • https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=11511 (opened; 2026-09-07; dated November 20, 2023)
  • https://smucker.house.gov/media/in-the-news/pa-reps-demand-upenn-fire-president-after-antisemitism-testimony-utter-disgrace (opened; 2026-09-07; dated December 8, 2023)
  • https://www.inquirer.com/education/live/liz-magill-university-pennsylvania-penn-josh-shapiro-antisemitism-20231208.html (opened; 2026-09-07; dated December 8, 2023)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/John_Joyce_(Pennsylvania) (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.facebook.com/RepJohnJoyce/posts/president-bidens-decision-to-turn-his-back-on-our-strongest-ally-in-the-middle-e/847386000541081/ (could not open; 2026-09-07; error page)
  • https://www.congress.gov/member/John-Joyce/J000302 (could not open; 2026-09-07; bill records here are taken from govinfo instead)
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-09-07, not a claim that no other statement exists.

Also in this race

  1. ✓ Beth Farnham (Democrat)

All Pennsylvania 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.