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

Lance Gooden

Republican · U.S. House, Texas District 5
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

In July 2024 Gooden wrote that the United States will continue to stand with Israel. A year later he said standing with Israel also means rejecting the starvation of children in Gaza, and that aid must enter. His bill would end U.S. funding for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency.

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Deep Dive

Lance Gooden is a Republican who has represented Texas's 5th District, the East Texas seat that runs from the edge of Dallas out to Athens and Palestine, since January 3, 2019. He sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. He faces Democrat Chelsey Hockett on November 3, 2026.

What he says about American support for the government of Israel is broad rather than specific about weapons or dollars. Welcoming Prime Minister Netanyahu to Congress in July 2024, he wrote that the United States will continue to stand with Israel and offer strong support to our closest ally in the Middle East. After the House passed the bill sanctioning International Criminal Court officials in January 2025, under a heading reading Supporting Our Ally Israel, he wrote that he would continue supporting our ally Israel as they work to root out terrorism in Gaza and Lebanon. In August 2024 he was an original cosponsor of the Stand with Israel Act, which would withhold United States funding from any United Nations agency that restricts or downgrades Israel's participation. During the April 2024 fight over the four foreign aid bills he went on Fox Business to discuss the proposed Israel aid package and wrote in his newsletter that he refused to spend another tax dollar on Ukraine until the border was secured; the objection he put in writing is to the Ukraine money, not the Israel money. The recorded votes on this card are shown as they were cast. Nothing in his press releases, his newsletters or his campaign site mentions the 2026 amendments, and no statement from him on them was found.

In the summer of 2025 he said something his party's other Texas members did not. As the argument over hunger in Gaza reached Congress, the Jerusalem Post reported him saying that standing with Israel means eliminating every Hamas terrorist and also means rejecting the killing and starvation of children in Gaza, that aid must be allowed to enter, and that ending the hunger crisis would strip Hamas of its ability to use children as pawns. Anadolu Agency reported the same words and dates them to a post he made on July 28, 2025. The post itself is on a platform that cannot be read here; both news organizations were read directly, and the words above are theirs as printed.

On American money to Palestinians his record is long and runs one way. He has introduced the No Tax Dollars for the United Nation's Immigration Invasion Act in three Congresses, in December 2021, in January 2023 and in March 2025; each version would halt State Department contributions to three bodies, one of them the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the agency that runs schools, clinics and food distribution for registered Palestinian refugees. He also cosponsored Rep. Chip Roy's UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act, which would bar United States funding for the same agency unless the State Department certifies a list of conditions. Going further back, in May 2021 he said Democrats would rather defend radical Islamic terrorists in Palestine than support our allies in Israel, and in May 2020 he was one of four members who introduced a bill authorizing a United States and Israel medical research partnership. His cosponsorships on antisemitism, his remarks about Iran, and the rest of what was read are on the research page.

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 6 of 6 tracked votes

Committees

House Committee on Armed Services

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.
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 6 of 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$20K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $20,000
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$20,000The 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

“It was an honor to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The United States will continue to stand with Israel and offer strong support to our closest ally in the Middle East.”
Source ↗, 2024-07-25
“Standing with Israel means eliminating every barbaric Hamas terrorist. It also means rejecting the killing and starvation of children in Gaza. We must allow aid to enter Gaza. Ending this hunger crisis will not only spare the lives of children but will strip Hamas of its ability to use innocent children as pawns in their depraved acts of barbarism.”
Source ↗, 2025-07-28
“I will continue supporting our ally Israel, as they work to root out terrorism in Gaza and Lebanon.”
Source ↗, 2025-01-10
“This partisan legislation was designed to distract the American people from the unprecedented crisis at our border, Joe Biden's wasteful tax-and-spend policies, and the fact Democrats would rather defend radical Islamic terrorists in Palestine than support our allies in Israel.”
Source ↗, 2021-05-19
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 on this card began on 2026-08-21 with a search for sources, whose results were treated as leads rather than as evidence. Every page cited below was opened and read on 2026-09-07 unless the entry says otherwise. His own site was read in full for this card: all 216 press releases listed in his newsroom, from 2019 to August 2026, and all 145 newsletters listed in his newsletter archive, from 2021 to August 2026, were opened and searched. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07). Gooden has represented TX-05 since January 3, 2019, so his tracked votes appear as badges on this card and are not re-counted here.

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

  • [Position, 2024-07-25] His newsletter, under a photograph of him with the visiting prime minister: "It was an honor to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The United States will continue to stand with Israel and offer strong support to our closest ally in the Middle East."
  • [Position, 2025-01-10] His newsletter, under the heading Supporting Our Ally Israel: "On Thursday, the House voted to pass H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, a bill that reinforces our support for Israel and protects U.S. sovereignty." And: "I will continue supporting our ally Israel, as they work to root out terrorism in Gaza and Lebanon." The same section sets out the bill's provisions, including sanctions on International Criminal Court officials and rescission of United States funding for that court.
  • [Position, 2024-04-16] His newsletter of the week the four foreign aid bills were being negotiated: "I refuse to spend another tax dollar on Ukraine until our border is secured. The multi-part spending proposal from Speaker Johnson falls short of securing our border, and leaves our nation open to unchecked illegal immigration." The issue's second item reads: "On Tuesday, Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Texas) joined Mornings with Maria on Fox Business to discuss House Republican's proposed Israeli aid package, the politicized prosecution of President Trump, and NYC Mayor Eric Adams subsidizing illegal migrants through taxpayer-funded debit cards." The interview itself is posted here, uploaded 2024-04-16 under the title Gooden (R-TX) Joins Mornings with Maria to Discuss Israel Aid, Trump Trial & NYC Paying Illegals. It is a video and was not watched, so nothing is claimed about what he said in it beyond his office's own description.
  • [Position, 2024-08-19] Rep. Mike Lawler's release introducing the Stand with Israel Act names Lance Gooden (R-TX-05) among the original cosponsors. The bill "will require the withholding of U.S. funding to UN agencies that expel, downgrade, suspend, or otherwise restrict the participation of the State of Israel."
  • [Position, 2024-09-25] His newsletter lists a Fox Business appearance covering, among other subjects, "Israel's defense against Hezbollah". The segment was not watched and nothing is claimed from it.
  • [Earlier record, 2020-05-12] Rep. David Kustoff's release: "Today, Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Lance Gooden (R-TX), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the Expanding Medical Partnerships with Israel to Lessen Dependence on China Act. The legislation authorizes a new partnership program to enhance cooperation between the United States and Israel to develop innovative approaches for treating and potentially curing COVID-19." The release adds that the four members were pushing for $12 million, to be matched by Israel, to fund the partnership.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-10-10] Rep. Claudia Tenney's release introducing the Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act names Lance Gooden (R-TX) among the original cosponsors of a bill to appropriate emergency funds to restock Israel's missile defense system. This is the single most specific action on American weapons funding in his record, and its date puts it out of the card summary.
  • Nothing was found from him about the 2026 amendments shown as badges on this card, or about H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034 or H.R. 8369 by name, in 216 press releases, 145 newsletters, or on his campaign site.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • [Position, 2025-07-28] His post on the argument over hunger in Gaza, as reported by two news organizations. The Jerusalem Post, on 2025-07-30, under the headline Republican lawmakers clash over Gaza aid after Trump says 'people are starving', introduces him with "Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX) pushed for the elimination of Hamas in Gaza, while calling for increased aid to enter the enclave," and prints: "Standing with Israel means eliminating every barbaric Hamas terrorist. It also means rejecting the killing and starvation of children in Gaza. We must allow aid to enter Gaza. Ending this hunger crisis will not only spare the lives of children but will strip Hamas of its ability to use innocent children as pawns in their depraved acts of barbarism." Anadolu Agency, on 2025-08-01, prints the second half of the same passage and says he wrote it on the Monday of that week, which is July 28, 2025. The post itself is on a platform that cannot be read here, so the words above are the ones the two news organizations printed.
  • [Position, 2025-03-03] His own release reintroducing the No Tax Dollars for the United Nation's Immigration Invasion Act. The bill's first provision: "Defunds UN Migration Organizations: Halts State Department contributions to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)." His words in the release are about immigration: "It's time to stop subsidizing our own destruction."
  • [Earlier record, 2023-01-26] The same bill, reintroduced, with the same three agencies named.
  • [Earlier record, 2021-12-07] The first version of the same bill, again naming the same three agencies.
  • [Earlier record, 2021-07-27] Rep. Chip Roy's release introducing the UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act lists "Lance Gooden (TX-05)" among the members joining it. The bill would bar United States funding for the agency unless the Secretary of State certifies six conditions, set out in full on that page.

Characterization of the conflict

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2024-09-26] Our research pointed to a letter from Sen. Tom Cotton and 37 Republican colleagues on the previous administration's Iran policy, said to carry Gooden's signature. Neither the Senate page carrying it nor the mirror of it would open on 2026-09-07, so the signature could not be checked and nothing is claimed from it. The subject is Iran in any case.
  • [Earlier record, 2023-02-03] His newsletter: "On Thursday, House Republicans also upheld our commitment to national security and Jewish Americans by removing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee. Congresswoman Omar is an unashamed antisemite, has labeled our ally Israel as 'evil,' and has downplayed the September 11th attacks on our nation. These remarks call into question Omar's patriotism and her judgment, and I proudly voted to remove her from the committee."

Safety and antisemitism (context, not the answer to what America sends)

  • [Position, 2026-06-09] BillTrack50's page for H.R. 9211, the Jewish American Security Act, gives the introduction date as 06/09/2026 and lists Lance Gooden (R) among its sponsors. Our research gave the date as June 10, 2026, which the page does not support.
  • [Position, 2025-06-05] The text of H. Res. 481 at govinfo.gov, "Condemning the rise in ideologically motivated attacks on Jewish individuals in the United States, including the recent violent assault in Boulder, Colorado," names Mr. Gooden among the members submitting it. Introduced in the House on June 5, 2025.
  • [Earlier record, 2023-04-14] His release on Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, calling on him to "apologize to the American people, particularly the Jewish community" over a college opinion piece defending antisemitic remarks.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-10-18] BillTrack50's page for H. Res. 796, "Condemning foreign nationals in the United States who have endorsed and espoused the actions of foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) in Gaza," gives the introduction date as 10/18/2023 and lists Lance Gooden (R) among its sponsors. Our research gave the date as October 25, 2023, which the page does not support. Not on the card summary because of its date.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-12-04] Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks's release introducing the Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United States Act lists "Lance Gooden (TX-05)" among the cosponsors at introduction. Not on the card summary because of its date.
  • [Position, 2025-02-28] His newsletter: "The Judiciary Committee advanced critical legislation, including the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act, ensuring that no terrorist sympathizers receive green cards or citizenship." This is an immigration measure and is recorded here rather than on the card.

The race

  • [Undated; read 2026-09-07] Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 election in Texas's 5th District: "Incumbent Lance Gooden and Chelsey Hockett are running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 5 on November 3, 2026." Hockett won the Democratic primary runoff on May 26, 2026. Ballotpedia's page for Gooden gives January 3, 2019 as the date he assumed office.
  • [Undated; read 2026-09-07] His campaign site is a single page carrying a donation appeal, a volunteer form and one quotation about the swamp and socialism. It says nothing about Israel, Gaza, foreign aid or the United Nations. A second address, goodenforcongress.com, returns a placeholder page reading "Coming Soon".

Not on the card, and why

  • Everything dated between October 7, 2023 and January 25, 2024: the Iron Dome supplemental cosponsorship of October 10, 2023, H. Res. 796 of October 18, 2023, the H.R. 6118 cosponsorship and statement of October 31, 2023, and the antisemitism commission cosponsorship of December 4, 2023. All four are recorded above with their dates. The first of them is the most concrete thing in his record on American weapons funding, and its date is the only reason it is not on the card.
  • The Iran material: the April 2024 interview with Iran International, and the letter our research attributed to him in September 2024. Iran is not the question this card answers, and the letter could not be opened.
  • The two video appearances, in April 2024 and September 2024. They are listed above with their addresses; neither was watched, so nothing is claimed about what he said in them.
  • The dollar figures and vote directions carried by the badges on this card. The badges show them; the prose says only what he himself said.
  • The earlier summary this card replaces.

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

  • https://gooden.house.gov/press-releases (opened; 2026-09-07). All 22 index pages, and all 216 releases they list, opened and read.
  • https://gooden.house.gov/newsletters (opened; 2026-09-07). All 15 index pages, and all 145 newsletters they list, opened and read.
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2024/7/what-does-the-fbi-know-about-trump-s-assassination-attempt (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2025/1/i-am-fighting-alongside-president-trump (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2024/4/we-must-take-a-stand (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2024/9/i-opposed-this-continuing-resolution (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2025/2/here-are-five-things-i-accomplished-this-week (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2023/2/border-security-isn-t-racist (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2025/3/release-congressman-lance-gooden-reintroduces-the-no-tax-dollars-for-the-united-nation-s-immigration-invasion-act (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2023/1/gooden-stop-the-taxpayer-funded-invasion (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2021/12/gooden-calls-for-end-to-taxpayer-funded-migrant-caravans (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2021/5/congressman-gooden-votes-no-bill-form-speaker-pelosis-partisan-commission (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/2023/4/gooden-slams-rep-jefferies-over-flagrantly-racist-beliefs (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://gooden.house.gov/national-security and https://gooden.house.gov/issues (opened; 2026-09-07). His issue pages say nothing about Israel, Gaza or foreign aid.
  • https://www.lancegooden.com/ (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.goodenforcongress.com/ (opened; 2026-09-07). A placeholder page.
  • https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-862673 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/explainer-us-lawmakers-ramp-up-criticism-of-israel-s-starvation-campaign-in-gaza/3648220 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3156 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-introduces-legislation-hold-unrwa-accountable-and-defend-israel (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://kustoff.house.gov/media/press-releases/kustoff-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-increase-us-and-israel-cooperation (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://tenney.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-tenney-stands-israel-and-introduces-legislation-restock-israels (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://maxmiller.house.gov/posts/congressman-miller-colleagues-stand-with-israel-and-introduce-legislation-to-restock-israels-iron-dome-defense-system (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://luna.house.gov/posts/breaking-rep-luna-introduces-bill-to-defund-un-human-rights-council-until-un-general-assembly-and-security-council-unequivocally-condemn-hamas (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-wasserman-schultz-salazar-gottheimer-miller-moskowitz-introduce (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.iranintl.com/en/202404175419 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hres481ih (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1645458/43325 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/2009020 (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSmZYDbnwf4 (opened; 2026-09-07). The page and its title and upload date were read; the video was not watched.
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_5th_Congressional_District_election,_2026 and https://ballotpedia.org/Lance_Gooden (opened; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-37-gop-colleagues-condemn-biden-harris-administrations-weak-iran-policy-amid-nuclear-threat (could not open; 2026-09-07)
  • https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2024/9/sen-rick-scott-joins-sen-tom-cotton-36-gop-colleagues-in-condemning-the-biden-harris-administration-s-weak-iran-policy-amid-nuclear-threat (could not open; 2026-09-07)
  • https://legiscan.com/US/bill/HR481/2025 (could not open; 2026-09-07). The bill text was read at govinfo.gov 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. ✓ Chelsey Hockett (Democrat)

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.