In America: Representatives Are Exploiting Congressional Stock Trading Through Conflict With Iran

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The U.S. strikes in Iran have raised concerns of many. The uncertainty of how far this conflict will go is daunting, but there is a warning sign for these occurrences. Like a “canary in the coal mine,” the actions of our representatives showed these strikes were coming. Numerous U.S. representatives with military and defense involvement have been investing in war stocks just before the Government has invested in military technology to support military action. 

Members Of Congress Repeatedly Invest Prior To Conflicts 

In June 2025, Israel and Iran experienced escalated tensions. Israel launched a military campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military operations. Iran responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones against Israel targeting both military facilities and civilian buildings. This intense 12-day confrontation influenced global defense markets, there was a global increase in defense and military spending. In the United States, Congress members benefitted from the conflict through stock trades. Representatives Gil Cisneros & Markwayne Mullin who both sit on the US Armed Services Committees have bought stock from contractors, technology companies, and info tech service providers in timely matters that call for speculation. 

Just days before the conflict, Cisneros and Mullin invested tens of thousands of dollars in L3Harris (LHX). L3Harris Technologies is an American defense and aerospace company that provides advanced technology solutions for communication, surveillance, and mission-critical operations across military, government, and commercial sectors. Although U.S.-based, LHX is a defense contractor with significant business relationships in the Middle East. According to its financial disclosures, LHX has obtained billions of dollars from the Middle East and its stock has historically risen as escalations grow in the Middle East. Having access to classified briefings, watchdogs claim that Cisneros and Mullin’s trades are suspiciously timed. 

The replenishment cycle is a major trend of the defense industry where contractors and war companies gain profit. As global conflicts require replenishment of missile and munition stockpiles, companies like LHX position themselves to be providers. 

This isn’t the first occurrence of suspicious stock trading from either politician. On December 2nd, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced its one billion dollar investment of taxpayer money to the drone acquisition mission “Drone Dominance Program.” The DoD stated the goal would be to obtain 300,000 one-way attack drones over the next two years in order for the U.S. military to evolve with modern warfare. In this program, leading defense contractor and drone supplier Aerovironment (AVAV) was awarded a five-year contract worth $990 million to support the DoD’s goal of drone acquisition. Portions of the contract would be dispersed to AVAV over the upcoming year. On December 12th, Rep. Cisneros invested in AVAV stock and in less than a month, Cisneros profited a 54% return on his $15,000 investment.   

In the last year Cisneros has made 963 trades at a volume of $25.28 million. Cisneros has a diversified portfolio heavily weighted toward information technology, industrials, and healthcare. His military/defense trades stand out due to his connections with the U.S. Armed Services. 

Congressman Markwayne Mullin has repeatedly been scrutinized for stock trades that overlap with his committee roles and national-security responsibilities. Just days before the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Mullins bought upwards of $150,000 worth of stock from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Raytheon. Raytheon is a major U.S. defense contractor manufacturing weapons and military/commercial electronics. These oil and defense stocks all experienced direct financial exposure to Venezuela through the military intervention. He purchased Chevron shares again days before the President launched military operations in Iran. He also purchased Carpenter Technology shares which provides the military with materials used to manufacture missiles and aircrafts. 

In 2025, Mullin violated the STOCK Act, a law prohibiting government officials from using insider information for stock trading. Violating federal transparency rules, he prevented real-time public oversight by not disclosing the trades on time which obscured the timing of trades relative to government actions. In the last year, Mullin has made 157 trades at a volume of $7.59 million with a total volume of $24.07 million. 

As U.S. Strikes Iran, Politicians Profit 

Members of Congress are actively buying millions of dollars worth of defense and military stocks. Other aggressive traders include Josh Gottheimer, Ashley Moody, and Michael McCaul. 

Rep. Josh Gottheimer purchased ExxonMobil, Cummins, Infineon, GE Vernova stocks weeks before U.S. strikes on Iran. He sits on the Defense Intelligence subcommittee, gets classified briefings, and these companies supply the military: military vehicles, nuclear reactors, power systems, energy infrastructure, and petroleum. According to the STOCK Act’s required reporting ranges, Gottheimer’s trades before the strikes could be up to $105,000. He overall trades at a $185,150,000 volume. 

Representatives Ashley Moody and Michael McCaul together invested in Howmet Aerospace, GE Aerospace, and Woodward Inc. Moody’s investments, potentially upwards of $150,000, are benefitting heavily from the 2026 war-driven demand and estimated to be up 107-133%. Moody participates in the Senate Armed Services Committee which oversees parts of national security and military affairs. Congressman and House Foreign Affairs Chairman McCaul invested in GE Aerospace and Woodward Inc. totalling returns of 76-114%. 

There have been countless trades involving military and defense stocks. Congress members’ purchases cluster around the Defense budget (estimated to be $1.5 trillion by 2027) and rising tensions in the Middle East. Now, the most frequent purchases include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, Honeywell, and Palantir. The timeliness of these Congress members’ trades compared to the timing of military contracting and global conflicts could be arguably not coincidental. Committee roles are giving representatives access to sensitive information that could be used for personal profit. Repeated violations of the STOCK Act through late disclosures fogs the validity these government officials are not breaking the law. Future trades by these members could be a precursor for what’s going to happen in the world.