But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Henry Cuellar
- Backed with $433K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by DMFI PAC +1 more
- Sits on House Appropriations
Cuellar's tracked votes point both ways: against the November 2023 standalone aid bill, then for the 2024 packages and against amendments cutting military aid to the government of Israel. Welcoming the 2025 peace agreement, he said Israel must retain the means to defend itself.
The email has replies@butwhatcanyoudo.org in cc, so we can post their answer on their page in their own words; remove it if you prefer. Keep the subject line as it is, add your name, and send.
You asked Henry Cuellar where they stand.
Deep Dive
Cuellar represents Texas's 28th District, from Laredo along the border up toward San Antonio. He is the sitting member and sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
His votes point both ways and the exception is unexplained. He voted against H.R. 6126, the November 2023 standalone package that paired $14.3 billion for the government of Israel with cuts to Internal Revenue Service funding, and then for the 2024 aid packages and against the amendments of 2025 and 2026 that would have cut military aid. No statement of his explaining the November vote was located, so that badge stands without his reasons.
His own words since are on his House site. In June 2025, responding to Israel's strikes on Iran, he wrote: "Faced with an existential threat, Israel acted to protect its citizens and prevent a nuclear-armed adversary from gaining ground. I support Israel's right to defend itself and to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of its people." The same release closes on his appropriator's role: "I remain focused on strengthening our strategic partnerships, supporting our allies, and safeguarding peace and security at home and abroad", a sentence that names no country. In October 2025 he welcomed the Israel-Hamas peace agreement as bringing "relief and hope after two years of immense suffering" and said the coming days would require "accountability and cooperation to ensure Hamas fully abides by its commitments and that Israel retains the means to defend itself against future threats."
Nothing located has him addressing U.S. humanitarian aid for Palestinians as a question of its own, at any date.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 5 of 6 tracked votes
House Committee on Appropriations
• 2025-06-13: Issued an official statement supporting Israel's strikes on Iran, stating support for Israel's right to defend itself and citing his membership on the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense and Homeland Security.
• 2025-10-09: Issued an official statement welcoming the Israel-Hamas peace agreement, thanking the president and calling to ensure Hamas abides by its commitments and that Israel retains the means to defend itself.
• 2023-10-11: In the first week of the Israel-Hamas war, announced constituent-evacuation work for TX-28 residents in Israel, including direct contact with the White House and State Department and two classified intelligence briefings.
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 5 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$433K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
DMFI PAC (2026 cycle) · 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
- His recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card and point both ways; the grounding for each sits in the record section. The November 2023 exception (a No on H.R. 6126, the standalone package offset by Internal Revenue Service cuts) has no located explanation in his words, which the card says plainly.
- [Position, 2025-06-13] His House release on Israel's strikes against Iran. Opened and confirmed word for word. Quoted spans on the card match character for character.
⚠ **A sharpened wording caught and not used.** Our search summary rendered his closing sentence as remaining focused on "supporting U.S. allies, including Israel". The release's own sentence is: "As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense and Homeland Security, I remain focused on strengthening our strategic partnerships, supporting our allies, and safeguarding peace and security at home and abroad." It names no country, and the card quotes it as written with that limit stated.
- [Position, 2025-02-12, reported and uncorroborated] Our search reports that he introduced legislation to enhance bilateral defense cooperation between the United States and Israel, and marks the claim uncorroborated. Its only carrier, https://legiscan.com/US/people/henry-cuellar/id/8965?page=2&record=all&chamber=house&status=introduced&type=bill, returns 403 on every attempt. Under the standing rule a bill claim from a search summary is never trusted without the official record, and no official record of this introduction was located. Nothing is claimed from it on the card.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- Nothing located at any date. No statement, vote explanation or campaign material addressing U.S. humanitarian funding for Palestinians, the aid pipeline, or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was found under his name.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-10-09] His release welcoming the Israel-Hamas peace agreement: a "historic achievement" bringing "relief and hope after two years of immense suffering", with the accountability sentence quoted on the card. Opened and confirmed.
- [Position, 2025-06-13] The June release characterizes Iran as directing and arming "terrorist proxies including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen" and frames Israel's strikes as a response to an existential threat (confirmed, above). Iran material stays out of the card summary under the standing rule; it is quoted here and used in the deep dive only as the context of his own statement.
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-16] His statement on the October 7 attack: a "barbaric attack", with Israel exercising an "indisputable right to self-defense under international law". Not on the card summary.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Reaction window, 2023-11, reported, unverifiable] Media reports are said to cite a student account that he told an American University class he had personally lobbied House Democratic leadership to encourage primary challenges against colleagues strongly critical of Israel. Three independent reasons keep this out of the card summary: the date is inside the reaction window; the only addresses offered are one Facebook post by a news page that returns 400 on every attempt and whose own visible summary concerns a different subject; and our search itself marks the account single-source and uncorroborated. A check for wrong-account citations flagged both citations of this carrier. Nothing claimed.
- He appears on Democratic Majority for Israel's December 2025 endorsement slate for the 2026 cycle, per the prior record on this card. Tracked funding totals appear as a badge on this card.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Prior, 2022-01-19] Co-founded the Congressional Caucus for the Advancement of Torah Values with Representative Don Bacon, per Jewish News Syndicate. Opens and names him.
- [Prior, 2023-02-02] Original co-sponsor of House Resolution 92 recognizing Israel as a democratic ally and condemning antisemitism, per the lead sponsor's release. Opens; the release's list names him. A multi-sponsor measure, stated as such.
- [Reaction window, 2023-10-16] From the same October statement: comparing Israeli military actions to those of Nazis, or describing Gaza as a concentration camp, "fan the flames of antisemitism and have no place in public discourse". Not on the card summary.
Race and status context
- Sitting representative, nominated, in one of this cycle's most competitive districts on this site's list.
- The prior one-line summary on this record describes him as having "consistently supported U.S. military aid to Israel". His vote record includes the November 2023 No, so this card states the directions rather than the summary's word "consistently"; the prior summary is replaced.
Also in this race
- ?Mixed Tano Tijerina (Republican)
- –Research Underway Marlón Durán (Green)
All Texas candidates.
See everyone on the Texas ballot →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.