Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, disclosed purchases of AI-linked stocks in October despite voting in July to ban lawmakers and their families from buying individual shares.
Gottheimer bought between $1,001 and $15,000 of Benchmark Electronics on Oct. 12. His jointly owned Morgan Stanley account purchased up to $15,000 of Applied Materials on Oct. 26, following three earlier purchases of Advanced Micro Devices stock. The five trades totaled between $5,005 and $75,000.
Gottheimer sits on the House Financial Services subcommittee overseeing AI in finance, has introduced AI regulation legislation, and co-chairs a commission developing Democrats' AI agenda. He is a former Microsoft executive.
His spokesman, Haraden Bottomley, said Gottheimer handed control of his investments to a third party with "full investment discretion" before taking office in 2017. "Gottheimer is also awaiting approval from Congress of a blind trust. In the meantime, he has taken the extra step of setting up an independent trust," Bottomley said.
In July, Gottheimer was among 13 Democrats who 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. Four years earlier, Gottheimer backed legislation requiring lawmakers to place investments in blind trusts and pledged to establish one himself.
Benchmark Electronics generated 30% of its third-quarter revenue from semiconductor equipment and 16% from advanced computing and communications, according to its Oct. 28 earnings report. Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices compete in AI chip manufacturing.