Rep. Dan Meuser and Rep. Gil Cisneros disclosed purchases of SpaceX stock in the days after the company's June 12 IPO, with the trades drawing scrutiny because of each lawmaker's committee assignments.
The lawmakers disclosed purchases of SpaceX stock days after the company's June 12 IPO, raising questions about their committee roles
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Rep. Dan Meuser and Rep. Gil Cisneros disclosed purchases of SpaceX stock in the days after the company's June 12 IPO, with the trades drawing scrutiny because of each lawmaker's committee assignments.
Financial disclosure documents show that a dependent child of Meuser's made a SpaceX stock purchase on June 15 valued at between $15,001 and $50,000, the first such individual-stock transaction by the Pennsylvania Republican or a family member in several years, according to CNBC. A spokesperson for Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, didn't respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
According to House financial documents, Cisneros, a California Democrat, reported buying SpaceX shares on June 18, with the transaction valued at somewhere between $1,001 and $15,000. That committee assignment is notable given that the Defense Department ranks among SpaceX's largest government clients — and it is the Armed Services Committee that holds oversight authority over the Pentagon. Responding to questions from CNBC, Cisneros issued a statement saying that professional financial advisors with a fiduciary duty handle investment decisions for him and his wife. "We do not manage the day-to-day trading of our investment portfolio, nor have we ever suggested a trade while serving in Congress or at the Department of Defense," he said. Before his current congressional role, Cisneros held a senior Pentagon post. President Joe Biden tapped him in 2021 to serve as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
CNBC found nothing to suggest that either representative used insider knowledge or broke any law in connection with the trades. Congressional ethics rules, including the STOCK Act, impose disclosure obligations on lawmakers covering trades by themselves and their immediate families. Nothing in those rules bars representatives from holding or buying individual stocks, provided they follow reporting requirements and refrain from acting on privileged information gained through their official duties.
The June 12 debut of SpaceX on Nasdaq $NDAQ under the ticker SPCX generated roughly $75 billion for the company — a sum that made it the biggest initial public offering ever recorded. Its opening price of $150 per share sent the company's total market value soaring past the $2 trillion mark. As of July 2, the stock was trading at $162 — a gain of roughly 8% over the $150 IPO price, though still about 20% off the peak closing value of $201.80 reached on June 16.
SpaceX stock had a turbulent post-IPO run. After gaining more than 40% in its first two days of trading — briefly pushing the company's valuation above those of both Amazon $AMZN and Microsoft $MSFT — the stock gave back most of those gains over four consecutive losing sessions, with a single-day drop of 16% at one point.
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