Computer technology giant Nvidia might soon start selling their chips to customers in China — a potential jackpot for the world’s most valuable company.
And some federal lawmakers have positioned themselves to cash in on Nvidia stock.
In all, more than two-dozen lawmakers reported trading Nvidia stock during 2025, according to financial disclosures reviewed by NOTUS. They stand to profit from President Donald Trump’s decision to green-light the sale of Nvidia’s second-most-advanced chips to China under certain conditions. It’s a move that has been criticized by some Republicans and Democrats alike as a threat to national security helping China undercut U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents Nvidia’s congressional district and was recently named a ranking member of the House’s Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, disclosed that his family bought Nvidia stock 10 times in 2025. In one trade made in May, his wife, Ritu, purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 in Nvidia stock — since then the stock has increased its value by over 50%.
Khanna denied any conflict of interest.
“Those are all in a diversified trust that is my wife’s. I mean, it’s not even my money,” Khanna told NOTUS. “It’s my wife’s family’s trust, and I disclose them, but that’s not something I control … since it’s already in a diversified trust, that eliminates any conflicts.”
Khanna, however, generally agrees with Trump’s trade policy decision on Nvidia chips.
“What I’ve said in the past is that we shouldn’t sell [China] our most advanced chip, but we should sell them those chips that are less powerful than our most advanced,” he said.
Nvidia is one of the most popular stocks in Congress. In 2025 the company disclosed almost $5 million in lobbying expenses. Nvidia executives have testified before Congress in recent months, and CEO Jensen Huang has met with Republican lawmakers to address their concerns over chip trade policy.
Federal lawmakers are required by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act to submit signed, certified disclosures of stock trade to Congress within 45 days of a trade being made by either themselves or an immediate family member, such as a spouse or dependent child.
Several lawmakers who have traded Nvidia stocks denied any conflicts of interest, and some denied any previous knowledge of their disclosed Nvidia trades, saying their spouses or financial advisers oversaw the transactions.
A spokesperson for Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who has advocated for strong export controls for AI semiconductors, said the congressman had no advanced knowledge of the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Nvidia shares he disclosed his family selling as the company’s value reached historic highs in June of last year.
“Rather, his wife has assets she solely owns, and a third-party manager made the [Nvidia] purchase without her direction,” Elliot Berke, McCaul’s attorney, told NOTUS.
“My wife and I have always employed outside financial advisors who have a fiduciary responsibility to maintain a diverse portfolio. We do not manage the day-to-day trading of our investment portfolio,” Rep. Gil Cisneros told NOTUS in a statement.
“I have always complied with all rules and regulations regarding stock trading and financial disclosures,” said Cisneros, who bought $15,000 to $50,000 in Nvidia stock in November as the company lobbied Congress to approve chips sales to China. (Lawmakers are only required to disclose the values of their personal stock trades in broad ranges.)
Rep. Lisa McClain, the chair of the House Republican Conference, reported that her husband bought and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of Nvidia stock from June to October of last year. She denied insider trading accusations over xAI stock trades, but in recent months has violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions twice. She did not respond to NOTUS’ requests for comment.
Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields, one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress, bought at least $4 million in Nvidia stock over dozens of personal stock transactions of all sorts throughout 2025. In June alone, Fields reported buying between $1 million to $5 million worth of Nvidia a few months before its stock reached a historic high in October. He did respond to NOTUS’ requests for comment.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who Republicans have often criticized for her stock trade disclosures, reported that her husband, Paul, bought $250,000 to $500,000 worth of Nvidia shares in January 2025, just days before Trump returned to office.
“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Pelosi’s office, wrote to NOTUS. Earlier this decade, Pelosi opposed efforts to bar lawmakers from trading stocks but has since said she would support such efforts.
Other federal lawmakers who have reported buying or selling Nvidia stock shares during 2025 include Reps. Keith Self, Josh Gottheimer, Jared Moskowitz, Eric Swalwell, Rob Bresnahan, Dan Newhouse, Ritchie Torres, Dan Meuser, Julie Johnson, Dwight Evans, Bruce Westerman, Jefferson Shreve and Julia Letlow, as well as Sens. Markwayne Mullin, Angus King and Sheldon Whitehouse.
Concerns over insider trading and conflicts of interest, as well as numerous violations of existing stock-trade disclosure law, have sparked competing efforts in Congress to bar elected officials from buying and selling individual stocks.
Notably, Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed a largely Republican-backed stock-ban bill that earlier this month advanced through the House Administration Committee.
“I don’t think we should have any appearance of impropriety here,” Johnson said at the time, adding that members’ rights to trade stocks has been “abused in the past, and I think sadly, a few bad actors discolor it for everyone.”
Supporters of these measures say they’re crucial to restore trust in Congress.
“At the end of the day, the American public deserves to know that their lawmakers are focused on serving them, not lining their own pockets,” Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who recently introduced a bipartisan bill to stop lawmakers from trading stocks, told NOTUS on Thursday.
“Because of the fact that so many members are trading stocks and aren’t doing their disclosures as they’re supposed to, there’s an appearance of impropriety. People believe that members of Congress are trading based on nonpublic information,” Gillibrand said. “We should instill more confidence in Congress and ban [stock trading] overall completely.”
Only a few lawmakers who have traded Nvidia stock told NOTUS they also mentioned supporting a congressional stock-trade ban in their statements.
“I believe the American people deserve transparency when it comes to the finances of elected officials,” Rep. Val Hoyle, whose spouse sold at least $50,000 of Nvidia stock in September, wrote to NOTUS. “I have consistently supported legislation to increase financial transparency for members of Congress and their families including the TRUST in Congress Act, the Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act and the Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act.”
Hoyle violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions last year, and she has since said she and her husband no longer trade individual stocks.
As for Nvidia itself, its presence in Washington continues to grow.
Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, has been one of the most successful Silicon Valley leaders in fostering a relationship with Trump, who has also been reported to hold Nvidia stock. The company has donated to Trump’s White House ballroom and his inauguration fund.
During the first year of Trump’s second term, Nvidia has landed an increasingly friendly trade policy, tens of millions in government contracts and an administration-wide commitment to building more massive data centers for which Nvidia supplies chips.
Republicans and Democrats have long sought strict limits for advanced chip exports to China, pressure that Nvidia has responded to with an aggressive lobbying campaign. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, the company spent over $1 million on federal lobbying efforts, according to congressional disclosures.
Some Republicans have been outspoken critics of how deferential this Republican-controlled Congress is to AI.
“They’re going all out to make sure that there’s no limitations on them selling chips to these Chinese companies,” Rep. Brian Mast, who recently introduced a bill to restrict chip imports to China, told NOTUS about Nvidia. He was the target of criticism by White House officials and right-wing personalities after making a push for this bill.
“I know for a fact they’re calling members of Congress, they’re whipping members of Congress, and they’re telling them not to vote for any of these provisions” that would limit sales to China, he added.
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