Mark Robert Warner
Warner voted for one resolution blocking a U.S. arms sale to the government of Israel and against another the same day, then said the United States should give it the tools to defend itself while opposing transfers of equipment used to demolish homes and expand settlements.
Warner is Virginia's senior senator, seeking another term, and vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee. His record here has moved, and the movement is the point: for two years he voted against every attempt to block a specific U.S. arms sale to the government of Israel, and in April 2026 he voted for one of them for the first time while voting against a second the same afternoon.
He explained the split the next day. In a statement on the two resolutions he set out the distinction he was drawing: "The United States can and must hold two truths at once: we can stand firmly with Israel's security while also speaking out against actions that jeopardize peace and stability in the region. Israel has an unequivocal right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to unilaterally displace Palestinians in the West Bank and torpedo any chance of ever achieving a two-state solution." And, in the same statement, what that means for what America sends: "The United States should ensure that Israel has the tools it needs to protect its people and deter its adversaries while opposing transfers of equipment that are used to demolish homes, expand settlements, and further entrench a reality that weakens the already fragile prospects for a durable peace."
On the money, he has been consistent that both halves should travel together. When the national security supplemental passed in April 2024 he said the bill delivered both kinds of support: "It delivers support to Israel and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza."
In July 2025 he joined five other Senate Democrats calling on the administration to use its leverage on the Israeli prime minister. The six wrote that "Humanitarian conditions in Gaza are appalling and unconscionable", and asked for a ceasefire that released the hostages and for a surge in humanitarian assistance with mechanisms to verify and monitor its distribution. Six signatures carry only the collective wording, and nothing in it is sharpened here into a statement of his alone.
Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 9 of 10 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- [Position, 2026-04-16] Statement on the joint resolutions of disapproval, dated on the page and read and confirmed word for word. The whole of it: "The United States can and must hold two truths at once: we can stand firmly with Israel's security while also speaking out against actions that jeopardize peace and stability in the region. Israel has an unequivocal right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to unilaterally displace Palestinians in the West Bank and torpedo any chance of ever achieving a two-state solution. The United States should ensure that Israel has the tools it needs to protect its people and deter its adversaries while opposing transfers of equipment that are used to demolish homes, expand settlements, and further entrench a reality that weakens the already fragile prospects for a durable peace. We can remain steadfast in our support for Israel's security and still be clear-eyed that actions by the Netanyahu government in the West Bank that displace families and escalatory military actions in southern Lebanon are not in Israel's long-term interest, nor our own." This is the statement the earlier pass recorded as missing. Direction named on both sides: for defensive capability, against transfers of the equipment used in the West Bank.
- [Position, 2024 to 2025] Recorded votes against every motion to discharge a resolution disapproving a U.S. arms sale or defense export to the government of Israel, across three voting days, each cross-checked against the official roll call, for example S.J.Res. 111 and S.J.Res. 41. Virginia's other senator voted the opposite way on each of them from April 2025 onward.
- [Position, 2026-04-15] Split his two votes that day: for the motion to discharge on the resolution concerning armored bulldozers (roll call), against it on the resolution concerning bombs (roll call). The first is the first vote of his in favor of blocking a proposed U.S. arms sale to that government, and the statement above, issued the following day, is his account of why. The card renders the votes; the prose does not re-list them or restate the tallies.
- [Position, 2024-04-23] Voted for the national security supplemental (roll call) and welcomed its passage, confirmed word for word: "It delivers support to Israel and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza."
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- [Position, 2025-07-25] Joint statement with five other Senate Democrats, confirmed word for word: "Humanitarian conditions in Gaza are appalling and unconscionable." The signers call on the administration to press the Israeli prime minister to reach a ceasefire releasing the hostages and to "Support a surge in humanitarian assistance that provides both a sufficient amount of humanitarian aid and credible mechanisms for effective distribution, including the verification and monitoring of assistance to ensure equitable distribution and to prevent Hamas from diverting assistance." Collective wording only.
- [Position, 2025-01-15] and [Position, 2025-10-09] Statements welcoming the two ceasefire and hostage agreements, on his own site (January, October), both of which call for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and treat a ceasefire as a foundation for two states.
- [Position, 2024-07-29] Called with Virginia's other senator for an immediate ceasefire and the return of all hostages (the other senator's page). A joint call; collective wording only.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-08-08] Statement opposing the plan to expand military control over Gaza City, and the following day a joint statement with four other Democrats urging a return to negotiations. Collective on the second.
- [Position, 2026-02-10] Signed a joint statement opposing conditions being set for expanded control and settlement in the West Bank, arguing that annexation runs against U.S. policy. Collective.
- [Position, 2024-03-11] Warned that the Israeli prime minister's conduct of the war risked undermining long-term support for Israel's security, reported by Jewish Insider.
- [Position, 2025-04-10] Told a Jewish community audience in Virginia Beach that policy differences with the Israeli government should be handled privately rather than aired publicly, reported by Jewish News of Virginia.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2025-10-22] Co-signed a letter urging the administration to reinforce opposition to annexation in the West Bank. Collective.
- American Israel Public Affairs Committee support and Democratic Majority for Israel support are badges on this card and are not restated.
- [Context] An advocacy site that catalogs officeholders it opposes holds a profile on him. Its characterizations are its own; none is used here.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Position, 2025-02-18] Co-sponsored the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would direct the education department's civil rights office to use a standard definition of antisemitism in campus discrimination complaints (his release).
Race and status context
- Incumbent senator seeking re-election, per Ballotpedia's race page.
- Source note: the two congress.gov interface addresses on this record, for his member entry and for a cosponsor roster, return a refusal to any reader without a key. They are provenance for the identity join and are not linked anywhere on this card.
Also in this race: Bert K Mizusawa (Republican) · All Virginia candidates.
See the full record →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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.