2 lawmakers buy SpaceX stock after IPO, reigniting ethics debate

Two members of Congress bought SpaceX stock within days of its $75 billion IPO, and their committee assignments — one overseeing securities markets, the other the Pentagon — have revived pressure for a trading ban that has stalled for more than a year despite broad bipartisan support.

"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," Rep. Gil Cisneros, a California Democrat who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. Cisneros, whom President Joe Biden appointed as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness in 2021, said outside financial advisors handle his investments.

Rep. Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, disclosed that his dependent child bought between $15,001 and $50,000 of SpaceX stock on June 15, the first individual-stock purchase by the lawmaker or a family member in several years, according to House financial documents. Cisneros reported a June 18 purchase of between $1,001 and $15,000. A spokesperson for Meuser did not respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace and satellite company, went public on June 12 in the largest IPO on record, raising roughly $75 billion. Shares opened at $150, pushing the company's market value past $2 trillion, and closed at $162 on July 2 — up 8 percent from the IPO price but roughly 20 percent below the June 16 closing high of $201.80. The stock gained more than 40 percent in its first two days of trading before giving back most of those gains over four consecutive losing sessions, including a single-day drop of 16 percent.

Committee Assignments Draw Scrutiny

The trades are politically sensitive because of each lawmaker's committee roles. Meuser sits on the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees securities and exchanges. Cisneros serves on the Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Defense Department, a major SpaceX customer that awarded the company a $4.16 billion contract for threat-detection satellites in May. There is no evidence either lawmaker traded on nonpublic information or violated the STOCK Act, which requires members to disclose transactions by themselves, their spouses and dependent children.

The filings are likely the first of many, ethics watchdogs have told CNBC, as more lawmakers disclose SpaceX trades in coming weeks. The IPO drew broad demand from retail and institutional investors, and members of both parties are expected to have participated.

Stalled Ban Gains New Urgency

The disclosures come as efforts to ban members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks have stalled despite years of debate. A Senate bill cleared committee in July 2025, and House Republican leaders vowed at the end of last year to bring legislation to the floor. Neither chamber has taken further action.

The scrutiny extends beyond SpaceX. Rep. Lisa McClain, a Michigan Republican and the fourth-ranking House GOP leader, faced questions in June after her husband bought as much as $250,000 in xAI before Musk folded the artificial intelligence company into SpaceX in February. McClain's household has executed 1,443 trades over three years, more than about 98 percent of politicians tracked by Capitol Trades, and she disclosed between $360,000 and $900,000 in her husband's trades months late — a second STOCK Act breach in the same year, according to CNBC. There is no evidence McClain traded on nonpublic information. She sits on the Financial Services Committee alongside Meuser.

The push for a trading ban has gained momentum as more lawmakers face scrutiny over trades that overlap with their committee work. With SpaceX's public debut and expected IPOs from AI companies including Anthropic and OpenAI — which filed confidentially for listings that could value them at $1 trillion or more — the pressure on Congress to act is likely to intensify. The last time a similar ban gained traction was in 2022, when a bipartisan bill advanced through committee before stalling ahead of the midterm elections.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.