"Business or Pleasure?”: President Trump & Sens. Moran & Sheehy Invest in Boeing
All Three Republicans Invested in The Boeing Company That Was Just Awarded a $20 Billion Contract While Still Under Federal Criminal Charges
Last year, the Department of Justice notified federal courts that Boeing was in breach of its obligations from a 2021 settlement agreement to pay more than $2.5 billion in various government penalties and compensation to beneficiaries of the 346 individuals who died in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2017 and 2018.
Boeing now faces a federal criminal fraud and conspiracy case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas before Judge Reed O’Connor, who rejected an initial plea agreement in December. While the company is reportedly working on a revised plea deal, O’Connor set a trial date of June 23, 2025, if no deal is reached.
In the meantime though, President Donald Trump announced on March 21 that Boeing won a $20 billion government contract to build a new fighter jet dubbed “F-47” for the United States Air Force.
Based on their most recent available financial disclosures, Trump held stock in Boeing, as did two senators who currently sit on the Senate panel overseeing Boeing’s safety efforts.
Long-serving Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana both serve on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation which held a hearing last week with Boeing’s president & CEO Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg to discuss the company’s efforts to address safety issues.
So, what is in this edition? Since Hunter Index is the most complete and robust database of U.S. politicians’ personal finances, we wanted to give you a look into each of these politicians’ most recent disclosures, as well as how Moran and Sheehy acted in the committee hearing with the Boeing’s top executive.
Governing While Investing?
President Donald Trump owns between $2k and $30k in Boeing stock according to his latest candidate financial disclosure report, which was updated on Feb. 9, 2024, and obtained by the Hunter Index on December 17, 2024 from the Office of Government Ethics.
President Trump also reported between $50k and $100k in interest and capital gains income from a third Boeing asset that was likely sold in full.
Sen. Moran owns between $15k and $50k in Boeing stock in his $1 million asset portfolio.
Sen. Sheehy and his spouse each own between $1k and $15k in Boeing stock in their Merrill Lynch IRA accounts. Collectively, the Sheehy family asset portfolio is worth a minimum of $107 million.
“Senator Sheehy believes strongly that personal assets should not influence the decision making of those who were elected to serve. He has not and will not personally trade stocks in the Senate, and supports efforts to ban individual stock, bonds, commodities, and all other securities trading by members of Congress and their spouses. To go even further, he is giving up control of his portfolio by placing his liquid assets, which includes any stock, in a blind trust to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.” - Tate Mitchell, Sen. Sheehy’s Communications Director
Yes, these two senators’ stakes in Boeing are worth a small percentage of their overall portfolios, but let’s see what they asked Mr. Ortberg about safety concerns of Boeing’s manufacturing process.
Moran — who has served in the Senate since 2011 and also chairs the Senate subcommittee on aviation — spent eight minutes questioning Ortberg and largely focused on the potential economic impacts of Boeing’s safety improvement efforts on his state.
The Kansas Republican specifically asked Ortberg about the impacts on his constituents in a potential Boeing acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, a Wichita-based aerostructure manufacturing company that Moran pointed out is among the largest private employers in Kansas.
Moran also briefly congratulated Ortberg on winning the new $20 billion defense contract, saying he looks forward to hearing if any of the work to fulfill the contract will be done in Kansas.
Sheehy left the hearing before he had an opportunity to question Ortberg, according to his press team. Due to Senate seniority rules, Sheehy would have been the last in the majority party to be able to ask questions.
The Hunter Index also reviewed recent financial disclosures from Judge O’Connor, who was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate in 2007. In reports since 2021, the judge did not report any direct ownership of Boeing in his asset portfolio.
However, in his most recent annual report, Judge O’Connor disclosed owning between $100k and $250k in a BlackRock fund (MAHQX). As of Dec. 2024, BlackRock owned 7% of Boeing stock making it one of the largest institutional investors in the company. However, Boeing assets are roughly only 0.01% of the fund, meaning the judge “owns” $10 to $25 in Boeing indirectly through the fund.
President Trump and Sen. Sheehy also reported owning BlackRock assets in their most recent disclosures.
The largest institutional stockholder in Boeing, Vanguard, owned 8% of Boeing stock as of Dec. 2023. All four officials, Judge O’Connor, President Trump, and Sens. Moran and Sheehy owned Vanguard assets, as did numerous other politicians in our Index database.
Press representatives for President Trump, Judge O’Connor and Sen. Moran have not responded to our multiple requests for comment as of time of publication.
Why Does It Matter?
Please be informed of your politicians’ personal finances.
That’s our goal at the Hunter Index. We believe it is important for constituents to understand how their government officials’ personal finances may affect their policy making decisions as well as understanding the potential wide disparity between their wealth and that of the people in their home state or district.
Remember our favorite questions: Would you make a decision that costs your family money for the public good? Isn’t that what we ask of our government officials? Do politicians or do you even know where your money is being invested?
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We hope the Hunter Index continues to explore the financial connections between our electeds in Congress and the financial markets, business community, and certain international actors. Domestic and international policy analysis and political understanding demands it. Keep up the good work!