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Kansas Dem Quietly Dumps Stock Portfolio After Free Beacon Exposé

Rep. Sharice Davids ditches $17,000 of energy stocks ahead of tough reelection bid

Rep. Sharice Davids (D., Kan.) / Getty Images
July 6, 2022

Rep. Sharice Davids (D., Kan.) quietly dumped her stock portfolio one day after the Washington Free Beacon reported she owned shares in green energy companies that regularly lobby Congress for subsidies.

Davids liquidated her portfolio on June 21, according to a disclosure filed with the House Ethics Committee on Friday. Davids's investments in three green energy companies—FuelCell Energy, Maxeon Solar Technologies, and SunPower Corporation—posed a potential conflict of interest because of her position on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Davids said after joining the committee she would use her position to explore investments in green infrastructure projects. The committee has helped shape the Biden administration's green-friendly infrastructure spending initiatives.

Davids owned up to $17,000 in shares of the three companies, along with a biotech firm, Organovo, and International Game Technology, a slot machine maker. She had owned shares in FuelCell and SunPower since at least 2018, according to previous financial disclosures.

Davids's investments conflicted with her support for legislation that would ban members of Congress from owning or trading shares of public companies. She and her cosponsors said stock ownership creates a "serious conflict of interest" for members conducting oversight of publicly traded companies. Davids said the ban was needed to "improve transparency and accountability" for members of Congress following several investigations into lawmakers' questionable stock transactions.

The National Republican Congressional Committee following the Free Beacon report blasted Davids over her stock holdings. "Kansas voters can't trust a thing Sharice Davids says," said Maggie Abboud, the spokeswoman for the House Republican campaign arm.

Davids faces a tough reelection bid in November after losing Democrat-leaning portions of her Kansas City suburban district through redistricting. She has cited "the ongoing public health emergency" to justify skipping out on in-person votes in Washington, D.C., often to attend fundraisers and other campaign events. Davids claimed the pandemic kept her from a vote last August, a day after she attended a Napa Valley fundraiser hosted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). She missed another in-person vote on Nov. 18, two days after attending a fundraiser in Palm Springs, Calif. Davids's campaign has spent more than $20,000 this election cycle on out-of-state lodging, including a $4,447 stay in March at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills.

Davids's office did not respond to requests for comment for this story or last month's report.