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

Brandon Gill

Republican · U.S. House, Texas District 26
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes

Gill cosponsored a 2025 bill authorizing new U.S. money for joint defense programs with the government of Israel and extending U.S. weapons reserve stocks for Israel to 2029. His campaign platform states support for the government of Israel against Hamas. Nothing located has him speaking about U.S. aid.

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Deep Dive

Gill took his seat in January 2025 and added his name to the United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025 on April 29 of that year. He is one of about 180 cosponsors of a bill introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina with Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey. The bill authorizes $150 million a year from fiscal 2026 through 2030 for a new joint program with the government of Israel on countering unmanned systems, authorizes a further $50 million a year for joint work on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and quantum technology, raises the spending caps on the existing joint anti-tunnel and counter-drone programs and runs them to the end of 2028, extends to January 1, 2029 the authority to place U.S. defense articles in reserve stocks for Israel, and orders the Pentagon to open a Defense Innovation Unit office in Israel. It also directs the Defense Department to seek the government of Israel's entry into the national technology and industrial base, the group of countries whose defense industries are treated as one for U.S. law, which at present is the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The bill has not become law.

In his own voice the record is thinner. His campaign platform says he firmly supports the right of the government of Israel to defend itself against Hamas and that the international community must denounce Hamas's terrorism; it says nothing about U.S. weapons, U.S. money or the terms on which either is sent. Asked on a candidate questionnaire whether the U.S. relationship with the government of Israel is important, he answered that it is unique and important and described that government as the first line of defense in the region. His congressional newsroom carries 65 releases between January 3, 2025 and August 17, 2026 and none of them mentions Israel, Gaza or foreign aid. The recorded votes on this record are not accompanied by any statement from him explaining them.

The one thing he has done in person is a trip. House travel disclosures record him in Tel Aviv from August 3 to August 10, 2025, on a delegation paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the lobbying group AIPAC, to meet Israeli government officials, military and religious leaders and tour sites tied to the conflict. AIPAC's political arm lists him among the candidates it is backing in 2026. Those are an organization's acts and a filing, not statements of his about what the United States should send.

Three recordings exist in which he is said to speak about Israel, Gaza or antisemitism, including an anti-war group's video of an exchange in which he is said to answer a question about U.S.-funded weapons. None of them can be read as text, so nothing said in them is used here; their addresses are on his research page for anyone who wants to watch them.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes

Floor votes
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.
Co-sponsorbacks this bill to send more support
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 2 of 2 tracked votes.)

The money

$15K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $15,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$15,000The 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.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

“I firmly support Israel's right to defend itself against the barbaric assaults of Hamas.”
Source ↗, 2026-09-07
“The international community must unequivocally denounce Hamas's terrorism and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel in its fight against these threats to peace and civilization.”
Source ↗, 2026-09-07
“Israel stands as a beacon of democracy and stability in the volatile Middle East.”
Source ↗, 2026-09-07
“The United States' relationship with Israel is unique and important.”
Source ↗, 2026-09-07
Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement)

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, all 65 releases across five listing pages from January 3, 2025 to August 17, 2026, and the whole listing was searched for Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian, Jewish, antisemitism, Iran and foreign aid. His campaign site and his candidate questionnaire were read. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07). Brandon Gill, a Republican, has represented Texas's 26th district, which takes in Denton, Wise and Cooke counties north of Dallas and Fort Worth, since January 3, 2025; he founded the DC Enquirer before running, and he is the 2026 Republican nominee for the seat. He was not in Congress before 2025, so there is no earlier federal record to read. 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, 2025-04-29] He cosponsored H.R. 1229, the United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025. The bill as introduced was brought by Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina with Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey on February 12, 2025. Section 3 creates a United States-Israel Counter-Unmanned Systems Program run by the Secretary of Defense with the concurrence of Israel's Minister of Defense, covering joint research, joint training exercises, information sharing, and "the procurement and deployment of counter-unmanned systems", and authorizes $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Section 4 raises the anti-tunnel cooperation cap from $50,000,000 to $80,000,000 and runs the authority to December 31, 2028. Section 5 raises the counter-unmanned-aerial-systems cap from $55,000,000 to $75,000,000 and runs that authority to the same date. Section 6 authorizes joint research, development, test and evaluation in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, quantum and automation, at $50,000,000 a year for the same five years, conditioned on a cost-sharing memorandum of agreement being certified to Congress. Section 7 extends the war reserves stockpile authority in the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations act from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2029. Section 8 orders a Defense Innovation Unit office established in Israel within 180 days. The official summary of the bill puts Section 7 as extending the authority to "transfer defense articles intended for use as reserve stocks for Israel". Gill's cosponsorship date and the cosponsor list come from the official bill status record at https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr/BILLSTATUS-119hr1229.xml , which lists "Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26]" with a sponsorship date of 2025-04-29 among about 180 cosponsors. The bill was referred to the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees and has not become law.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] His campaign platform has a section headed "Standing Up for Israel". It does not mention U.S. weapons, U.S. money, the memorandum of understanding, or conditions on aid. The page carries no date of its own, so it is recorded on the date we read it.
  • [Position, 2025 and 2026] Nothing located in his own congressional releases. All 65 press releases on his newsroom, from his swearing in on January 3, 2025 to August 17, 2026, were listed and read; they cover immigration, DEI, judicial impeachment articles, the District of Columbia, government funding, farmland, energy and district business. Not one mentions Israel, Gaza, Hamas or foreign aid. His congressional site has no newsletter archive and its committees page carries no list.
  • [Undated, address recorded] CODEPINK, an anti-war group, posted a video titled "Rep. Brandon Gill Has No Heart for Gaza's Children" at https://www.facebook.com/codepinkalert/videos/brandon-gill-has-no-heart-for-gazas-children/812088838030857/ . The page's own caption says that when he was asked about children killed by U.S.-funded bombs he replied "I'm a big supporter of Israel." That is the group's account of what he said, the page carries no date we could confirm, and the video itself cannot be read as text. Held for a person to watch; not used on the card.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located at any date. No release, platform section, questionnaire answer or interview found addresses UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline. An empty record here carries no implication either way.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] His campaign platform, under "Standing Up for Israel": "President Trump has rebuilt American foreign policy by prioritizing peace through strength. Israel stands as a beacon of democracy and stability in the volatile Middle East. I firmly support Israel's right to defend itself against the barbaric assaults of Hamas. The international community must unequivocally denounce Hamas's terrorism and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel in its fight against these threats to peace and civilization." That is the whole of the section.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] His candidate questionnaire on iVoterGuide, a conservative voter-guide organization that surveys candidates and rates them. The profile is for the Texas general election of November 5, 2024 and the page carries no date of its own, so it is recorded on the date we read it. He answered the questionnaire at length across every section of it. Asked "Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?" he answered: "The United States' relationship with Israel is unique and important. As the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel has become the first line of defense against a hostile Iran seeking to destroy the Western world and has worked to thwart terrorist organizations around the Middle East that would love to destroy the United States." On foreign policy generally he chose the option that the United States has become too involved in others' policies, adding that America has an obligation to its allies to stay engaged and help thwart terrorism but "cannot go abroad seeking monsters to destroy".
  • [Position, 2025-06-14] A video on the Forbes Breaking News channel, uploaded June 14, 2025, titled "'Do You Support Hamas's Agenda?': Gill Confronts JB Pritzker Over Org Against Israel Actions In Gaza", described as an exchange at a House Oversight Committee hearing with Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois. The title, channel, upload date and description were read; the video was not watched, so nothing said in it is used.
  • [Position, 2025-06-13] A post from his own account on X reading "Pray for Israel and for peace", timed 7:40 PM on June 13, 2025, at https://x.com/RepBrandonGill/status/1933610339108532335 . The post text and its timestamp were read from the page itself.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2025-08-03 to 2025-08-10] His House travel disclosure, as published by Legistorm, which republishes congressional filings, records a trip to Tel Aviv sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The filed purpose reads: "Met with Israeli government officials, professional guides, military and religious leaders to gain first hand accounts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the area of the West Bank and Gaza. Toured significant historical sites for an understanding of the current importance in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah." The filing is dated August 26, 2025.
  • [Position, 2025-08-10] A video posted by AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying organization that also spends in U.S. elections, uploaded August 10, 2025, titled "Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) in Israel with AIEF", with the description "Rep. Brandon Gill, along with 20 Republican members of Congress, are in Israel with the American Israel Education Foundation." Title, channel, upload date and description were read; the video was not watched.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-07] Ballotpedia's list of AIPAC endorsements names Brandon Gill (R) for U.S. House Texas District 26 in 2026, sourced to the organization's own candidate portal at https://candidates.aipacpac.org/page/featured/ , which opened but returned an empty listing page. This is an organization's act, not his statement.
  • [Undated, address recorded] Newsmax posted a video whose caption reads: "Rep. Brandon Gill: 'This is just patently absurd for the mayor of an American city to be engaging in foreign policy, trying to meet with the Iranians separately. Going after different world leaders. I mean, it's just insane. It's absurd.'" at https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/videos/rep-brandon-gill-this-is-just-patently-absurd-for-the-mayor-of-an-american-city-/2804195353280412/ . The page carries no date we could confirm and the video cannot be read as text. Held for a person to watch; not used on the card. A second address for the same clip, https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/posts/rep-brandon-gill-this-is-just-patently-absurd-for-the-mayor-of-an-american-city-/1597665475739382/ , returns an error page.
  • [Position, 2026-03-06] An interview with The Dallas Express, conducted March 5 and published March 6, 2026, covering the strikes on Iran, a shooting in Austin, and immigration. It does not address U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel.

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

  • [Position, 2025-06-02] A Newsmax video, uploaded June 2, 2025, titled "Antisemitism has gotten worse, DOGE will get better: Brandon Gill | Newsline", described as his reaction to the attack in Boulder, Colorado. Title, channel, upload date and description were read; the video was not watched, so the words attributed to him in it are not used.
  • [Undated, address recorded] A Newsmax video captioned "'If you are here, and you are on either a student visa or a green card, you are a guest in the United States.' Rep. Brandon Gill reacted to the arrest of a second anti-Israel protestor at Columbia University on immigration grounds on Friday's 'Newsline.'" at https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/videos/columbia-deportees-were-guests-of-america-brandon-gill-newsline/951566080375394/ . No date could be confirmed from the page and the video cannot be read as text. Held for a person to watch.

Not on the card, and why

  • The Iran passages, in the questionnaire answer, in the Newsmax clip about a mayor, and in the March 2026 Dallas Express interview, are a different question from what the United States sends, so they are not on the front.
  • The three video clips and the CODEPINK video: none can be read as text, so nothing said in them is used anywhere. Their addresses are above so a person can watch them.
  • The AIPAC endorsement and the travel sponsorship: an organization's acts, not his statements about U.S. weapons or money.
  • The antisemitism and campus-visa material is context and does not answer what the United States sends.
  • The March 2026 interview material on immigration and Islam is outside this card's question entirely.
  • The recorded vote rows and the funding total on this record: the card does not restate them in prose.
  • A separate person, Brendan Gill, a Democrat running in New Jersey's 11th district, gave a January 2026 interview to Jewish Insider about U.S. aid to the government of Israel. Searches return his answers under this candidate's name. None of it is his, and none of it is used.

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

  • https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr1229ih/html/BILLS-119hr1229ih.htm (opened; 2026-09-07; H.R. 1229 as introduced February 12, 2025)
  • https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr/BILLSTATUS-119hr1229.xml (opened; 2026-09-07; official bill status, cosponsor list and summary)
  • https://brandongillforcongress.com/issues (opened; 2026-09-07; live platform page, no date of its own)
  • https://gill.house.gov/media/press-releases (opened; 2026-09-07; five listing pages, 65 releases, January 2025 to August 2026)
  • https://gill.house.gov/about (opened; 2026-09-07; biography)
  • https://gill.house.gov/about/committees-and-caucuses (opened; 2026-09-07; carries no list)
  • https://gill.house.gov/about/votes-and-legislation (opened; 2026-09-07; recent-votes table)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/78323/race/6584/election/1214?culture=en-us (opened; 2026-09-07; undated questionnaire on his November 2024 general-election profile)
  • https://www.legistorm.com/trip/61087.html (opened; 2026-09-07; travel filing dated August 26, 2025 for a trip of August 3 to 10, 2025)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Endorsements_by_American_Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee (opened; 2026-09-07; undated list)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Brandon_Gill (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://candidates.aipacpac.org/page/featured/ (opened; 2026-09-07; returned an empty listing)
  • https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1kzxT_qKZag (opened; 2026-09-07; uploaded August 10, 2025; title, channel and description read, video not watched)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9N8QZrZQoQ (opened; 2026-09-07; uploaded June 14, 2025; title, channel and description read, video not watched)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxAxFtYuMPw (opened; 2026-09-07; uploaded June 2, 2025; title, channel and description read, video not watched)
  • https://x.com/RepBrandonGill/status/1933610339108532335 (opened; 2026-09-07; post text and timestamp of June 13, 2025 read)
  • https://www.facebook.com/codepinkalert/videos/brandon-gill-has-no-heart-for-gazas-children/812088838030857/ (opened; 2026-09-07; caption only, no date, video not watchable as text)
  • https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/videos/rep-brandon-gill-this-is-just-patently-absurd-for-the-mayor-of-an-american-city-/2804195353280412/ (opened; 2026-09-07; caption only, no date)
  • https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/videos/columbia-deportees-were-guests-of-america-brandon-gill-newsline/951566080375394/ (opened; 2026-09-07; caption only, no date)
  • https://www.facebook.com/NEWSMAX/posts/rep-brandon-gill-this-is-just-patently-absurd-for-the-mayor-of-an-american-city-/1597665475739382/ (could not open; 2026-09-07; error page)
  • https://dallasexpress.com/state/exclusive-rep-gill-on-trumps-iran-strikes-radical-islam-threat-and-transforming-texas-communities/ (opened; 2026-09-07; published March 6, 2026)
  • https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/brendan-gill-tom-malinowski-11th-congressional-district-seat-new-jersey/ (opened; 2026-09-07; published January 21, 2026; about a different person, read to rule the material out)
  • https://www.congress.gov/member/brandon-gill/G000603 (could not open; 2026-09-07; the bill record above is taken from govinfo instead)
  • https://www.localcandidates.org/politicians/brandon-gill/positions/9c3afa57-cc51-444a-b34f-7b83c9ee6a4a (not used; this site is never cited on these cards)
  • 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. ✓ Steven Shook (Democrat)
  2. – Phil Gray (Libertarian)

All Texas 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.