Foreign Policy and Defense

Foreign aid

67 public statements from 2026 candidates · 3 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: Foreign aid pays for medicine, food and disaster relief in lower-income countries, and it is one of the ways the US builds influence abroad.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

US spending on health, food, disaster relief and development programs in other countries; in 2025 Congress canceled billions of dollars of foreign aid it had already approved.1

  1. Restore or increase foreign aid, including programs cut in 2025
  2. Keep foreign aid near its current level
  3. Cut foreign aid further or end most of it

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Restore or increase foreign aid, including programs cut in 2025 (17)

  • Connie Chan CA-11
    Her campaign website says she would work to restore funding for USAID and to restore and protect PEPFAR.2
  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would fully restore USAID, protect PEPFAR and expand global health funding.3
  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says money saved from the Pentagon should go to diplomacy, sustainable development and humanitarian aid, and that minimum staffing levels should be set in law for agencies such as USAID.4
  • Marni von Wilpert CA-48
    Her campaign website says she would defend and expand programs such as PEPFAR, keep investing in global health, and restore funding for USAID.5
  • Angie Nixon FL Senate special
    Her campaign website says she supports restoring US humanitarian aid and US funding for UN agencies and global public health programs.6
  • Daniel Biss IL-9
    His campaign website says he will work to reopen USAID and other diplomatic agencies closed by the Trump administration, increase international climate aid and expand funding for global health.7
  • Mary Allen IN-8
    Her campaign website says she would prioritize human-needs funding through investments in global public health and USAID programs.8
  • Nancy Wallace MD-8
    Her campaign website says she will advocate increasing international aid to women's nongovernmental organizations and to local, community, women-run programs.9
  • Abdul El-Sayed MI Senate
    His campaign website says he supports immediate reinvestment in foreign aid, including to UNRWA.10
  • DeVelle L. Jackson MN-5
    It says he supports restoring the independent capacity and humanitarian mission of USAID so that the United States can again offer relief after disasters, food aid, support for global health and long-term development.11
  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website says she would restore USAID and rebuild it with stronger fraud controls, and reauthorize the PEPFAR global AIDS program.12
  • Brian J Miller MT-2
    His campaign website's farm page lists restoring funding to USAID among things he would like to see done.13
  • Lakesha Womack NC-14
    Her issues page says she supports restoring and strengthening an independent U.S. Agency for International Development, protecting money for maternal health, access to contraceptives and worldwide public health programs, and opposing cuts to humanitarian and development assistance that it calls politically motivated.14
  • Denise Powell NE-2
    Her campaign website says she would fight to reestablish USAID and other key U.S. programs.15
  • Adam Hamawy NJ-12
    His campaign website says he will work to reverse the dismantling of agencies such as USAID.16
  • Winston Jordan NJ-12
    His policy platform website lists scaling up global health, education and climate finance in place of militarized interventions.17
  • James Talarico TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would fully fund the State Department, reverse the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and restore aid programs that fight famine, disease and violence.18

Cut foreign aid further or end most of it (13)

  • Steve G. Parsons AR-1
    His campaign website says the U.S. should stop being the world's charity, noting that it gives aid to 169 countries, including some it also sanctions.19,20
  • Douglas Mangeris CO-4
    His campaign website says no foreign aid should be sent to any country until the national debt is paid off.21
  • Christopher Dennison FL-7
    His campaign website says foreign aid should end, that no more money should be borrowed to fund another country's government, and that a country that wants American troops on its soil should pay for them or be a major trading partner with a real stake.22
  • Matt Loesby ID Senate
    His campaign website says the US should give no foreign aid to any country.23
  • Paul Sand ID Governor
    His campaign website says he opposes sending any money or weapons to any country.24
  • John Hauer KS-2
    His campaign website says there should be no more sending of tax dollars overseas.25
  • Steven A. Hohe KS-3
    His campaign website says he would end corporate and foreign aid.26
  • Chris Dardzinski MI-13
    His campaign website says the U.S. should end foreign aid to any nation that wants to harm it and that he would like other G-20 nations to carry the larger share of foreign aid, and it lists the U.S. Agency for International Development among the independent agencies to eliminate.27,28
  • Tom Schmitz MO-1
    His campaign website says all foreign aid should be ended across the board.29,30
  • Bennie Foster MS-2
    His campaign website says the country should not send billions of dollars in aid to other countries while its own people have unmet needs, and that he would work from a Mississippi-first approach that rejects spending billions on foreign aid and wars.31
  • Bo Whitehead NC-8
    His campaign website lists ending foreign aid among the issues on which he would introduce legislation.32
  • Edmond Laplante NH Senate
    His campaign website says the United States should stop sending foreign aid overseas and end its involvement in wars abroad.33
  • Ted Brown TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would end all foreign aid payments.34

Statements that don't match one option (37)

  • Michael Masuda CA-5
    His campaign website says the United States should invest in diplomacy and development to reduce the risk of conflict.35
  • John Garamendi CA-8
    His campaign website says diplomacy should come first in foreign relations, that U.S. aid can help regions suffering from hunger and disease, and that he supports expanding the Peace Corps.36
  • Aisha Wahab CA-14
    Her campaign website says the United States should invest in diplomacy, humanitarian assistance and international partnerships before turning to military force.37
  • Randy Villegas CA-22
    His campaign website says foreign aid for people suffering from extreme poverty and natural disasters is important, but that money for wars or bailing out other countries should instead be invested at home.38
  • Samantha Mota CA-37
    Her campaign website lists ending foreign aid, together with a total arms embargo and enforcing the Leahy Law, among her foreign policy goals.39
  • Chuong V. Vo CA-45
    His campaign website says he would require oversight and results for foreign aid.40
  • Adam Withrow CO Senate
    His campaign website says the United States should not borrow to give foreign aid, should not prop up prosperous nations or brutal regimes, and should account for every aid dollar.41
  • Tim Bennett CO-7
    His campaign website says foreign aid should be tied to clear American interests, accountability and measurable results.42
  • Benjamin Wesley CT-4
    His campaign website calls for restoring funding for UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations working in Gaza.43
  • Mike Klein FL-3
    His campaign website calls for rebuilding U.S. influence abroad through cultural diplomacy, accountability in foreign aid and multilateral leadership.44
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's platform calls for rebuilding USAID after a program-by-program audit, restoring its disease surveillance, food security and democracy programs, and cutting programs that serve no American interest.45
  • Eric Yonce FL-6
    His campaign website says foreign assistance should be conditioned on international law and human rights.46
  • Kimberly Overman FL-12
    Her campaign platform says she supports humanitarian aid, civilian protection efforts and refugee assistance.47
  • Alexander Cooke FL-21
    His campaign website says every foreign-aid supplemental should expire on its own and come back for a new up-or-down vote.48
  • Mike Collins GA Senate
    His campaign website says the US should stand by its allies but stop writing what it calls blank checks overseas without accountability, and that allies should carry their share of the burden.49
  • Matt Day GA-2
    His campaign website says there should be no more pallets of cash for foreign aid, and that only American-made food, medicine and supplies would be sent.50
  • Whitfield Harrington Jr IL Senate
    His campaign website says humanitarian relief should not rest mainly on the United States and that the United Nations and its members should take the lead.51
  • David C Graham KS Senate
    His campaign website says the United States should stop sending what it calls blank checks to foreign governments.52
  • Drew Cranmer KS-4
    His campaign website says he supports bringing the troops home, stopping nation-building and ending unconditional foreign aid.53
  • Pete Lynch KY-6
    His campaign website says he supports directing foreign aid to food, medicine and rebuilding communities rather than weapons.54
  • "Mike" Nichols LA-4
    His campaign flyer lists accountability for foreign aid, including military aid for foreign countries, among the things he supports.55
  • John Deaton MA Senate
    His campaign website says he would not vote for more aid to any foreign country unless he is convinced it serves the interests of the United States and Massachusetts.56
  • James P. McGovern MA-2
    His campaign website says he expanded the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which it says provides school meals to children in the world's poorest countries.57
  • April McClain Delaney MD-6
    Her campaign website says she believes in a post-World War II model of global engagement that includes foreign aid, alliances such as NATO and a strong military.58
  • Moshe Y. Landman MD-6
    His campaign website says the United States should become the world's humanitarian superpower and would significantly increase funding for the Peace Corps and the United States Institute of Peace.59,60
  • Richard Sills MI-2
    His campaign website names as a point of contention the billions of dollars spent abroad on free education, health care and infrastructure while, it says, students at home face loans with double-digit interest rates, infrastructure is wearing out and health care is moving out of reach.61
  • Donavan McKinney MI-13
    His campaign website calls for resuming funding for UNRWA and other organizations providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians.62
  • T.P. Nykoriak MI-13
    His campaign website says every dollar Congress appropriates should be traceable and spent only as intended, that military, humanitarian and other foreign aid should not be lost to fraud, corruption, theft or waste, and that anyone who diverts or misuses resources paid for by taxpayers should face investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution.63
  • Rebecca Whiting MN Senate
    Her campaign website opposes what it calls entangling alliances and says allies should run their own countries without US money.64
  • Jake Johnson MN-1
    His campaign website says he opposes taxpayer-funded bailouts for foreign countries such as Argentina.65,66
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    It also says she wants to advance humanitarian support for countries in civil wars, such as Sudan and Yemen.67
  • Wesley Bell MO-1
    His campaign website criticizes President Trump for cutting foreign aid that it says was saving lives and preventing disease.68
  • Mahesh (Max) Ganorkar NC-4
    His campaign website says American tax dollars should be spent at home to benefit American citizens, and that too much foreign aid does not reach the people it is meant to help.69
  • Chuck Conboy NE Senate
    His campaign website calls for an end to what it calls endless foreign wars and blank checks to foreign governments, and says America should be rebuilt before the rest of the world.70
  • David J. Else NE-3
    His campaign website says he will fight against what it calls endless spending on war and on foreign countries.71
  • Maggie Goodlander NH-2
    Her campaign website lists among her accomplishments a court filing in American Foreign Service Association v. Trump that challenged what it calls attacks on USAID.72
  • Teresa F. Benitez-Thompson NV-2
    Her campaign website says she would support humanitarian aid on the scale the crisis in Gaza requires, including restoring U.S. funding for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.73

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.