Lawmakers scrambled to cash in as Trump's bromance with Musk blossomed: report
New reporting by Forbes revealed that at least 10 members of Congress traded Tesla stock of up to $1.27 million after Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency.
The three dozen trades, which occurred after July 12, 2024, raised new concerns over congressional conflict of interest since Musk is now entrenched in the federal government.
Forbes cited data from Capitol Trades, which monitors congressional activity in the stock markets.
"The trades totaled between $340,000 and $1.27 million," Forbes reported, and were evenly split between buys and sells. Of the nine House members and one senator tracked, Forbes reported that "four Democrats bought Tesla shares and six sold, while two Republicans bought and one sold."
The most active trading came from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who bought Tesla stock 11 times and made three sales, "all between $1,000 and $15,000," Forbes reported.
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"Other lawmakers who traded Tesla include Democrats Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Gil Cisneros Jr., Dwight Evans, Vincente Gonzalez, Julie Johnson and Morgan McGarvey; and Republican Reps. Rob Bresnahan Jr., Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michael Guest—Gonzalez sold shortly after buying, likely at a loss, while McGarvey appears to have made a gain in his wife’s IRA."
Greene, who chairs the House Oversight subcommittee overseeing Musk’s DOGE, has bought Tesla stock since September, with her trades "totaling between $9,000 and $135,000," Forbes reported.
According to his financial disclosure, Trump reported owning between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Tesla shares as of May 2024.
Forbes quoted Delaney Marsco with government watchdog Campaign Legal Center, saying, “When they make these trades, it raises questions about possible conflicts of interest because they're also making laws at the same time. They also can move the market by tweeting about something, calling for a hearing or with just a press release.”
Two bills remain in committee that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) filed the “No Corruption in Government Act” in January, while Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) submitted the “End Congressional Stock Trading Act” last month.