But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Mike Kelly
- Backed with $25K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by AIPAC
Kelly voted for the April 2024 military aid package for the government of Israel, saying “The U.S. must continue to stand with Israel”. In December 2024 he highlighted expanded U.S.-Israel military exercises in the defense bill he backed. Our research found nothing from him on U.S. aid since.
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You asked Mike Kelly where they stand.
Deep Dive
Announcing those April 2024 votes, Kelly said “As global tensions rise, America must lead with peace through strength” and that all of the aid came with increased oversight and accountability. The same release sets out what he understood the Israel bill to do: replenish the Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems, and procure defensive weapons, artillery and munitions.
Two months earlier he criticized a Senate package that combined border policy with money for Ukraine and the government of Israel, calling it “more of a foreign aid package than a border security package”. The objections in that statement are to the border and Ukraine provisions; it says nothing about the Israel funding it describes. In October 2024 he co-sponsored a resolution reaffirming United States support for Israel a year after the October 7 attack, and that December he pointed to the defense bill’s expansion of U.S.-Israel military exercises, its full funding of cooperative missile defense, and its ban on Defense Department purchases from entities that boycott Israel.
The position goes back well before the war. He wrote in 2011, after a week of briefings in Jerusalem, that the alliance is key to American national security, and during the 2014 Israeli operation in Gaza he said “The enemies facing Israel are the enemies of civilization and free societies everywhere”. Since December 2024 we have found nothing further from him on what the United States sends. His House press releases from January 2025 through September 2026 and his campaign site carry no statement on it.
On safety and antisemitism, he signed a 2022 letter from 93 members asking the Secretary of Homeland Security for a government-wide strategy against antisemitism. His statements and letters from the weeks after the October 7 attack are on the research page.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes
• 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 more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$25K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
AIPAC (2026 endorsement)
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
Everything located for this card, by research dimension. Dates are the date carried on the page.
### 1. U.S. military aid and weapons
- [Position, 2024-12-12] On the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which he voted for, his release lists among the contents: "Expand U.S.-Israel military exercises and fully fund cooperative missile defense programs" and "Counter antisemitism by prohibiting sale of goods at DOD commissaries and exchanges from any entities that have or are engaged in a boycott of Israel." His own words in the release are about pay and readiness: "With war in Europe, the Middle East, and increased tensions between China and Taiwan, a strong national defense is vital to American security at home and abroad" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Position, 2024-04-20] On the series of foreign aid bills: "As global tensions rise, America must lead with peace through strength. Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack on Israel last weekend is the latest provocation against America’s top ally in the Middle East. The U.S. must continue to stand with Israel... Most importantly, all of this aid comes with increased oversight and accountability." The release summarizes the Israel bill as replenishing "the Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems, critical resources that protect civilians and have no offensive capabilities", procuring "defensive weapons, artillery, and munitions", backing U.S. military operations responding to Iranian-backed terror, and restocking defense articles and services provided to Israel (kelly.house.gov).
- [Position, 2024-02-05] On the Senate supplemental combining border security, Ukraine and Israel funding: "The Senate’s proposal is more of a foreign aid package than a border security package with half of the funding earmarked for Ukraine, not for our borders." The rest of the statement is about the border and does not address the $14 billion for Israel that the release itself describes. The release closes by noting the Speaker had committed to putting a $17.6 billion standalone Israel package on the House floor; Kelly is not quoted on that package (kelly.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] On the $14 billion Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act: "The United States cannot stand idly by while Israel and the Jewish people are under attack. This aid package will boost Israel’s defense capabilities and allow the IDF to maintain military readiness during one of Israel’s most critical moments in history." His release breaks the package down as $4 billion for Iron Dome and David’s Sling, $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing for advanced weapons systems, $1.2 billion for Iron Beam, and $1 billion for artillery and munitions production (kelly.house.gov).
- [Position, read 2026-09-07] We read his House press releases from January 2025 through September 2026 and his 2025 year-in-review page. Neither carries a statement on Israel, Gaza or U.S. aid (press releases). His campaign site opened on 2026-09-07 and carries nothing on the question (mikekellyforcongress.com).
### 2. Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2024-10-07] He is listed as a cosponsor of Rep. Russell Fry’s resolution reaffirming United States support for Israel on the first anniversary of the October 7 attack (fry.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-25] After the House passed the resolution condemning the Hamas attack: "Let’s be clear: the United States must stand with Israel... This vote shows the U.S. House of Representatives supports Israel’s right to protect and defend itself and its people in this war" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-10] On joining the bipartisan resolution: "Let’s be clear: the United States must stand with Israel. Our strongest ally in the Middle East is under attack by Hamas terrorists. I condemn these senseless and unprecedented attacks. I support Israel’s right to protect and defend itself and its people in this war" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Earlier record, 2014-07-08] On the Israeli operation in Gaza: "As destruction and terror once again threaten the people of Israel, it is critical that the United States stands in proud, unwavering defense of our greatest ally and dearest friend in the Middle East. The enemies facing Israel are the enemies of civilization and free societies everywhere... Against such evil, Israel not only has an absolute right to defend herself but a moral duty, and it is a task which America should be ready to assist in every way possible" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Earlier record, 2011-09-09] An opinion piece he wrote for The Hill, "US-Israel alliance key to national security", describing Israelis as "living in a perpetual state of instability, surrounded by forces who seek, and who will use any means necessary to ensure, your destruction" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Earlier record, 2021-05-13] Our research reported a statement of his beginning "Our friends in Israel are once again under attack by Iranian-backed terrorist group Hamas", resting on a post on a social account. That address does not open, so the wording is not confirmed and is not used on the card. It is recorded here for completeness.
### 3. Israel-related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2024-02-05] He pressed for a direct vote on assistance for Israel rather than a bundled Senate bill, and urged the Senate to take up the House border bill instead (kelly.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-13] His office published a page of State Department contacts and assistance forms for constituents in Israel (kelly.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-10] He was one of more than 390 members introducing the bipartisan resolution (kelly.house.gov).
- [Earlier record, 2013-05-29] On Fox Business, about reports that the Internal Revenue Service gave extra scrutiny to organizations that support Israel: "This is something of an IRS that’s run wild... This gets to the point where it’s not just chilling anymore. This is downright freezing" (kelly.house.gov).
- Our research found no record of paid or formal lobbying by him for any outside group.
### 4. Safety and antisemitism
- [Position, 2024-01-30] A bipartisan Ways and Means letter to the FBI on tax-exempt organizations and campus antisemitism is cited as carrying his name. The file opens but its text cannot be read, so the signatory list is not confirmed and nothing is built on it (letter).
- [Reaction window, 2023-12-07] He joined five other Pennsylvania Republicans in a letter to the University of Pennsylvania trustees calling for the removal of its president after her testimony to the House education committee on campus antisemitism (reschenthaler.house.gov).
- [Reaction window, 2023-11-16] On a demonstration outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters: "We must condemn these violent protests in the strongest terms possible... Despite the ceasefire these protesters are calling for, Israel has every right to defend itself and its citizens during this war. We must stand with Israel" (kelly.house.gov).
- [Earlier record, 2022-06-29] He is listed among the 93 members who signed a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security asking for a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy on domestic antisemitism (schneider.house.gov).
### Not on the card, and why
- His statements from the weeks after the October 7 attack, including the November 2023 statement on the $14 billion package, are recorded above and are not carried on the card.
- Two sources turned up under his name are about other men. A magazine piece on military aid to Israel discusses Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona (Moment), and a television clip titled "Mike Kelly calls out Labor’s Israel obsession" is the former Australian member of parliament of the same name (video). Neither is used.
- A report on the money in the PA-16 race (Legis1) and his encyclopedia biography (Wikipedia) were read for background. Neither carries a statement from him on U.S. weapons or funding.
- The 2021 social post is described above without a link, because the address does not open.
### Sources retrieved for this card
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-supports-foreign-aid-package-legislation-secure-border; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-supports-national-defense-authorization-act-pay-raise-military-service; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mike-kelly-statement-senate-immigration-ukraine-israel-supplemental; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-kelly-us-house-pass-14-billion-israel-aid-package; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-joins-bipartisan-resolution-standing-israel; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-house-passes-kelly-backed-resolution-supporting-israel; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://fry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=709; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-kelly-pens-oped-hills-congress-blog-us-israel-alliance-key-national; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-kelly-statement-support-israel; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-rep-kelly-responds-irs-targeting-pro-israel-groups-fox-business-network; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/resources/resources-constituents-israel; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://schneider.house.gov/media/press-releases/92-bipartisan-members-congress-call-dhs-secretary-address-antisemitism; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-kelly-statement-condemning-acts-antisemitism; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://reschenthaler.house.gov/media/press-releases/reschenthaler-leads-call-for-termination-of-penn-president-liz-magill; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bipartisan-Ways-and-Means-Letter-to-FBI.pdf; opened, text not readable; 2026-09-07)
(https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases; opened, pages 1 to 18; 2026-09-07)
(https://www.mikekellyforcongress.com; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://momentmag.com/military-aid-to-israel-now-a-defining-issue-in-democratic-politics/; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpbx5MP21NE; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Kelly_(Pennsylvania_politician); opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://legis1.com/news/pa-16-campaign-funding-todays-congressional; opened; 2026-09-07)
(https://www.facebook.com/MikeKellyPA/posts/our-friends-in-israel-are-once-again-under-attack-by-iranian-backed-terrorist-gr/4365414026825808/; could not open; 2026-09-07)
Also in this race
- ✓Opposes Justin Wagner (Democrat)
All Pennsylvania candidates.
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