Adam Smith
D · U.S. House, WA-9 · Tier 2/3
Tier 2/3, between “Mainstream pro-Israel” and “Pro-Israel, critical”
As ranking member of House Armed Services, publicly called (Aug 2025) to stop the sale of some offensive weapons systems to Israel 'as leverage' for a ceasefire, more aid, and a halt to West Bank settlements; has demanded Israel immediately allow humanitarian aid and stop settler violence, and backs a two-state solution. He signed letters backing refugee priority status for Gazans with U.S. citizen or permanent-resident relatives (June 2024), demanding answers on the detention of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil (March 2025) and urging Secretary Rubio to demand a surge of infant formula into Gaza (August 2025), and joined most House Democrats on the September 2025 Schneider–Raskin letter opposing annexation of the West Bank. In July 2026 he voted Aye on the Massie amendment to strip Israel’s $3.3 billion in military financing — “a very close vote for me” — saying “I have an obligation to try to get the attention of the Netanyahu government to force them to change their actions. My vote to stop $3.3 billion in military assistance to Israel is my effort to do that.” But affirms Israel's right to exist, warns against those who would 'wipe it off the map,' takes AIPAC money (a top donor) without swearing off it, and once accused anti-genocide protesters of “left-wing totalitarianism,” as Middle East Eye reported. He is not a Block the Bombs cosponsor; on the ICC-sanctions bills he voted Nay on H.R.8282 (June 2024) and did not vote on H.R.23 (January 2025). He also backs restoring UNRWA funding and supported the Iran nuclear deal — positions he notes AIPAC opposes. On October 9, 2026 he cosponsored Jerry Nadler’s Antisemitism Response and Prevention Act (H.R.6806), which calls the IHRA and other definitions of antisemitism valuable educational tools that “should not be applied in punitive legal contexts” and says criticism of Israeli government policies “does not constitute antisemitism” when it isn’t expressed through antisemitic tropes or discrimination against Jews. In a June 2026 message to constituents, quoted by Jewish Insider and also reported by Military.com, he reversed the stand he had taken in the Armed Services Committee markup, saying he would “vote to remove Section 224 from the National Defense Authorization Act,” the provision consolidating U.S.–Israel defense-technology programs, because “In the context of these ongoing conflicts, Section 224 carries meaning beyond the plain text substance of the provision. I want to advocate for peace and pressure Israel to meaningfully work with partners in the region to bring these conflicts to an end.” In an Oct 19, 2026 statement after settler attacks on Palestinians, European diplomats and the American journalist Heidi Levine, he said that when “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government retroactively legalizes outposts, when Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir openly support settlement expansion, and when settlement projects such as E1 are allowed to proceed, all these actions enable further settler violence,” and urged Congress to pass the West Bank Violence Prevention Act (H.R.3045, Jerry Nadler’s bill, of which he is an original cosponsor), which “would sanction individuals and entities destabilizing the West Bank.” On the June 2026 Lebanon war-powers votes he opposed Rashida Tlaib’s first resolution (H.Con.Res.84), which he said “would have removed all American troops from Lebanon,” and backed her redrafted H.Con.Res.108 because it “prevents unauthorized U.S. military involvement in hostilities while preserving our partnerships and diplomatic presence,” adding, “I am deeply opposed to Israel and Hezbollah’s conflict” (June 5, 2026).
Held at 2/3. A real conditioning record — the Aug 2025 call to withhold some offensive weapons as leverage, the demand that Israel allow humanitarian aid and halt settler violence, UNRWA funding, and support for the Iran deal, all positions he notes AIPAC opposes, plus his July 2026 Massie Aye, which he explained as an effort to force the Netanyahu government to change its actions, and his Nay on the June 2024 bill to sanction the International Criminal Court (H.R.8282, RC 242; he did not vote on H.R.23, RC 7, Jan 2025) — pulls him off a flat Tier 2. But AIPAC is a top current donor — its PAC gave $328,823 in the 2024 cycle and $169,157 in the 2026 cycle — and he has not sworn off the money. Holding the foot in 2: he affirms Israel’s right to exist and is not a Block the Bombs cosponsor.
Open the full card, with votes, money and every source, on elect26 →
elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).