A stock owned by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has surged in value by more than double in just one month, according to Pelosi's disclosure documents.
Why It Matters
Pelosi, longtime Democratic U.S. representative for California, has centered her time in office around progressive politics, calling for health care reform, minimum wage increases and environmentalism.
As stock owners and multimillionaires abound in Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties, fears of insider trading and conflicts of interest have lingered.
What To Know
Pelosi has from $50,001 to $100,000 in Tempus AI Class A stock that she purchased January 14, according to her financial disclosures.
Tempus AI is a Chicago-based company developing medicine solutions using patient data, with a focus on cancer, infectious disease and mental health.
When Pelosi first purchased Tempus, the stock was priced at $31.83 and has now grown in value to $70.08.
Pelosi's financial disclosures have garnered skepticism over the past month, as she sold Nvidia stock, another major player in the AI world, just a few weeks before it dramatically dropped in price.
Other members of Congress, including Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and GOP Senator Josh Hawley, have pushed to end individual stock trading by lawmakers as a way to avoid conflicts of interest.
What People Are Saying
Ian Krager, spokesperson for Pelosi, told Newsweek: "Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions."
Ocasio-Cortez previously said in a statement: "Members of Congress should not be allowed to buy and sell individual stock. We are here to serve the public, not to profiteer."
Hawley previously said in a statement: "Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they're supposed to be regulating. Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country. Here's something we can do: ban all members of Congress from trading stocks and force those who do to pay their proceeds back to the American people. It's time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering."
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: "Tempus has been an incredibly popular stock in the past few weeks, largely due to being seen as one of the leaders of integrating artificial intelligence into the medical field to offer quicker and more practical solutions for patients through data. However, the surge being tied to stock ownership by a member of Congress is yet another example of why many Americans are growing frustrated with the status quo in Washington, D.C."
Kevin Thompson, finance expert and founder/CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek: "The increase in institutional ownership, as reported in Form 13F quarterly filings, likely contributed to the stock's momentum. Additionally, anything AI-related is benefiting from strong investor sentiment—similar to the dot-com era when simply having ".com" in your name boosted valuations. However, it's worth noting that insiders have begun selling at these higher levels, which could signal a peak in stock performance. That said, it doesn't necessarily mean the stock can't climb higher."
Michael Ryan, finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: "Financially, Tempus AI is positioned pretty nicely in the healthcare AI space. But you've got to wonder about the political side of things. This whole situation has reignited that ongoing debate about whether members of Congress should be trading stocks at all."
What Happens Next
All members of Congress are required to disclose their financial transactions, and around half are millionaires.
Beene said the skepticism around lawmakers and inside trading is natural when certain stocks experience massive returns.
"While we may not have concrete proof of insider trading, when voters see representatives enjoying massive returns on random stocks, they naturally draw the conclusion there may be information they're receiving that your average American is not able to access," Beene said. "Recent polling has shown that regardless of party, most Americans are in favor of some major revisions to laws between Congress and how they interact with financial markets personally."
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