Arabic version: مشرعون يُبلّغون عن شراء أسهم سبيس إكس بعد الطرح العام الأولي

According to Cnbc, six House members or their immediate families bought between roughly $83,000 and $245,000 in SpaceX shares within six days of the company’s June 12 initial public offering.

The reported buyers were Reps. William Timmons, R-S.C.; John McGuire, R-Va.; Dan Meuser, R-Pa.; Gil Cisneros, D-Calif.; John James, R-Mich.; and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. Disclosures reported transactions in ranges, including $50,001 to $100,000 for Timmons and $15,001 to $50,000 for James and Meuser.

Five of the lawmakers serve on committees whose work intersects with SpaceX businesses including defense, satellite communications, artificial intelligence, federal contracting or securities markets. The company receives government contracts and relies on federal approvals. CNBC reported no evidence that the lawmakers used nonpublic information, violated congressional trading rules or used their offices to benefit SpaceX.

Some transactions were made by spouses or dependent children, whose holdings and purchases must be disclosed by members of Congress. Cisneros, who bought shares in his own name, said earlier this month that he does not manage the day-to-day trading of his investment portfolio. A spokesperson for James said his wife bought stock for their children through a brokerage firm.

Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center said committee assignments that overlap with a government contractor can create potential conflicts of interest. Congress allows members to buy and own individual stocks if they disclose purchases and holdings. The House has since passed the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would ban new individual-stock purchases by lawmakers while allowing them to retain existing holdings; the bill now moves to the Senate.