As market upheaval struck due to heavy tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump, before the market made a recovery after his reversal on these impositions, Representative Jared Moskowitz actively engaged in stock trading. On the 7th of April, records show that Moskowitz invested in 23 different stocks, the total worth falling in a rough range between $23,023 and $345,000. Additionally, he parted ways with two other stocks that day totaling an estimated $2,002 to $30,000. This day proved to be particularly fruitful for Moskowitz, marking his highest record of transactions within the month of April, as validated by the transaction document he provided to the House Clerk.
With the use of broad categories in the congressional financial disclosure forms, it’s challenging to determine exact figures that Moskowitz or any other congressional participant bought or sold. Importantly, no evidence suggests any form of wrongdoing by Moskowitz. His trading activity is more reflective of an experienced investor. However, the trading activities of Congress members, which are made public after the fact, frequently spur interest.
Maureen O’Toole, who speaks for the House Republican campaign organization, criticized the Democratic representative, claiming that his intention for being in Congress is not for service to the people of Florida but for self-promotion and personal financial gain. Interestingly, he appears to be the sole member of Congress from Broward or Palm Beach County that reported stock transactions during the shaky economic period prevalent at the start of April.
Members of Congress are mandated to disclose their transactions within a window of 30 to 45 days. As of Friday morning, no other local lawmakers had complied with this reporting requirement. It was this very day that saw President Trump hinting at increasing tariffs on Chinese goods and rejecting the notion of a hiatus on ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, leading to a ripple effect on the markets, lowering shares (a decision he would later retract).
Coincidentally, this led to advantageous timing for the bought stocks, as the market has since bounced back and recovered most of the losses experienced during that turbulence. A spokesperson for Moskowitz clarified that it wasn’t the congressman himself performing the transactions. Instead, these financial decisions were managed by an external third-party financial adviser, in the same way all of Moskowitz’s trades are handled, thus keeping him uninvolved.
What appears to be Moskowitz’s trading strategy come across as ‘buying the dip,’ meaning he has been strategically purchasing stocks during market low-points, with a long-term vision predicting an eventual rise in said stocks’ prices. The disclosure report evidences a variety of stock purchases within the technology, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.
Exceptional purchases were recorded on the 7th of April which included prominent establishments such as Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Caterpillar, NVIDIA Oracle, Pepsico, Sherwin Williams, and Visa amongst others. Furthermore, on the same day, Moskowitz sold his shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings and NextEra Energy.
Moskowitz is currently a co-sponsor of a bipartisan bill that would enforce new investment rules on members of Congress and their immediate families. This legislation, if passed, would require members of Congress, their spouse, and dependent children to either sell off individual stock holdings or shift their investments into a qualified blind trust during their tenure. The underlying purpose of these provisions is to eliminate potential conflicts of interest and ensure that members of Congress cannot monetize their access to nonpublic information for personal gain.