Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat shaping his party's artificial intelligence policy, has disclosed recent purchases of AI-linked stocks, raising eyebrows just months after voting to ban lawmakers from buying individual shares. The New Jersey congressman bought between $1,001 and $15,000 of Benchmark Electronics stock on October 12 and up to $15,000 of Applied Materials shares on October 26, following earlier purchases of Advanced Micro Devices.
Gottheimer's investments are under scrutiny as Democrats prepare to gain new power to regulate the AI industry in January. The congressman, a former Microsoft executive, sits on the House Financial Services subcommittee overseeing AI in finance and has introduced legislation on AI regulations. His spokesman, Haraden Bottomley, stated that Gottheimer turned over control of his investments to a third party with 'full investment discretion' before taking office in 2017 and is awaiting approval for a blind trust.
The purchases contrast with Gottheimer's longstanding support for restricting congressional stock trading. In July, he voted for the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would prohibit lawmakers and their families from purchasing most individual stocks. The bill passed the House but has not become law. Gottheimer's investment portfolio includes more than 1,100 securities transactions over three years, with household assets ranging from $15.1 million to $59 million.
The AI purchases came shortly before a sharp selloff in AI stocks. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 5.5% on Thursday, as Nvidia dropped more than 9% and AMD roughly 17%. Benchmark fell nearly 17% over Wednesday and Thursday before recovering somewhat on Friday.