New Jersey Democrat Buys AI Chip Stocks Months After Backing Trading Ban

Rep. Josh Gottheimer bought shares in three semiconductor companies in October, less than four months after voting for a bill that would bar members of Congress from owning individual stocks. The New Jersey Democrat filed a disclosure this week revealing the purchases occurred after he helped shape his party's stance on artificial intelligence regulation.

The filing shows Gottheimer bought Benchmark Electronics stock worth between $1,001 and $15,000 on Oct. 12. His jointly owned Morgan Stanley account later purchased Applied Materials shares valued at up to $15,000 on Oct. 26. These trades followed three earlier buys of Advanced Micro Devices, a major maker of AI chips.

Gottheimer sits on the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees AI in finance. He introduced legislation on AI rules and co-chairs a commission developing the Democratic agenda on the technology. His trading activity draws attention as Democrats prepare to control Congress in January, a shift that will give them new power to regulate the industry.

Haraden Bottomley, Gottheimer's spokesman, said the congressman gave a third party full discretion over his investments before taking office in 2017. Bottomley noted that Gottheimer is awaiting approval for a blind trust from Congress. In the meantime, the representative set up an independent trust to manage his holdings.

The five transactions totaled between $5,005 and $75,000. This amount represents a small portion of Gottheimer's disclosed household assets, which range from $15.1 million to $59 million. His household, which includes his wife Marla Tusk, a political consulting firm general counsel, reported more than 1,100 securities transactions over the last three years.

The timing of the purchases coincided with a sharp drop in tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% on Thursday. Nvidia lost more than 9% and AMD shed roughly 17%. Benchmark dropped nearly 17% over Wednesday and Thursday, closing at $59.34. This price was about 25% below the level on Gottheimer's October purchase date, before the stock regained some ground on Friday.

Gottheimer voted for the Stop Insider Trading Act in July, joining 13 other Democrats who supported the measure. The bill passed the House but has not become law. The legislation would prohibit lawmakers and their families from buying most individual stocks. Some Democrats opposed the final version because it included a voter ID provision or because they wanted stricter limits on stock holding by elected officials.