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

Joe Wilson

Republican · U.S. House, South Carolina District 2
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Wilson voted for every tracked aid bill and against both amendments to cut aid to Israel, and authors bills funding joint U.S.-Israel defense programs. He called the ICC’s Netanyahu warrants “despicable” from “long an anti-semitic organization”, and pledged “victory over the Iranian regime and its puppets”.

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Deep Dive

Wilson has represented South Carolina’s 2nd District since 2001 and is among the House’s most consistent Israel supporters. His six recorded votes appear as badges on this card: Yes on all four tracked aid measures, No on both amendments to cut aid to Israel.

He legislates on the alliance directly: the United States-Israel Future of Warfare Act (2023) proposed a $50 million annual fund for joint work on AI, cybersecurity, automation, and directed energy, and the 2025 United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act with Rep. Norcross would authorize $150 million annually through 2030 for counter-drone systems, anti-tunneling, and war-reserve stock authority.

Marking one year since October 7, he pledged: "We will not rest until we bring them home and achieve victory over the Iranian regime and its puppets." After Yahya Sinwar’s death he thanked the Israeli military for eliminating a "deranged Hamas leader", and in November 2024 he denounced the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as "despicable and an affront to Israel", calling the court "Long an anti-semitic organization" and backing sanctions against it.

His pro-Israel record spans decades of his own releases, from 2008 Gaza statements through a 2017 floor defense of Israel at the U.N. and co-chairing the House Israel Caucus, documented on the research page. AIPAC’s and the Republican Jewish Coalition’s tracked support appears as badges on this card.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Committees

House Committee on Armed Services · House Committee on Foreign Affairs

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.
Sponsorbacks this bill to send more support
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

$30K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $22,900 · Republican Jewish Coalition: $7,500
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$22,900The 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.Republican Jewish Coalition$7,500The Republican Jewish Coalition's PAC; it financially supports Republican candidates who reflect its priorities, including strong U.S. backing of 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.
Endorsed by AIPAC
AIPACThe 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.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.

In their words

“We will not rest until we bring them home and achieve victory over the Iranian regime and its puppets.”
Source ↗, 2024-10-07
“Long an anti-semitic organization, the ICC again ignores the facts and must be sanctioned, which is why I co-sponsored the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act to sanction the ICC to protect Americans.”
Source ↗, 2024-11-21
Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement)

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

  • Nothing located as a distinct position at any date.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2024-10-07] The anniversary statement, verified and quoted on the card; the Iranian-regime phrase sits inside his own sentence.
  • [Position, 2024-10-17] The Sinwar statement, verified.
  • [Prior positions, 2008-2019] His 2008 Gaza, 2014 human-shields, and 2019 rocket-attacks releases on his own site; reported, not confirmed directly, not reretrieved.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2024-11-21] The ICC statement, verified and quoted on the card, including the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act co-sponsorship.
  • [Iran, 2024-10-01] His statement on Iran’s missile attack blaming "Biden-Harris weakness"; Iran material, research page only.
  • [Role] House Israel Caucus co-chair, per his own 2021 release commending Prime Minister Netanyahu; reported, not confirmed directly. His February 2025 Israel Allies Caucus relaunch post is a Facebook source, not yet confirmed.
  • Tracked AIPAC and RJC support appears as badges; the Post and Courier profiled the AIPAC relationship.

Safety and antisemitism

  • [Position, 2023-11] His remarks against the river-to-the-sea slogan as "clearly antisemitic & hateful" fall near that period; the source offered is in-window material and stays out of the card summary.
  • [Action, 2024-05-07 and 2025-05-08] His campus-antisemitism hearing appearances; video sources, not yet confirmed.

Race and status context

  • Sitting member, nominated. His Democratic challenger’s card carries its own record.

Also in this race

  1. ✓ Zyon Khalifa (Democrat)
  2. – Dayna Alane Smith (Other)

All South Carolina 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.