Dems call out WA congressman over stock trades. Did he profit from tariff fears?
Democrats are claiming Central Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse took advantage of President Trump’s tariff turmoil to enrich himself.
They’re pointing to an April 11 stock trade disclosure form that shows the trade of shares of about 40 stocks, most valued between $1,000 and $15,000 by Newhouse’s wife, Joan Galvin.
The total value of the transactions ranged from $47,000 to $705,000, according to a Thursday news release from the Washington State Democratic Party.
The Democrats are pointing to the timing of the sales as the Sunnyside Republican and his wife “figuring out how to make a quick buck” after Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements earlier in the month.
The news release also claims that due to Newhouse’s committee assignments, he often has access to privileged information about many of the stocks.
The financial disclosure documents in question doesn’t seem to back up the claims.
All of the trades are listed as subholdings of an Edward Jones Individual Retirement Account. Newhouse’s previous financial disclosures show a similar pattern of trades, typically just once a year often around the same timeframe.
While individuals can choose their own stocks or just invest in mutual funds, a spokesperson for the congressman told the Herald in an email that those trades were just part of an annual plan update made by a financial adviser.
“The items on the disclosure are in the Congressman’s wife’s personal retirement account. These are handled by a financial adviser who acts independently and in no way shape or form does the Congressman or his wife have any involvement with these routine annual updates to the account,” the spokesperson said.
Yakima Valley farms
Newhouse has represented the Tri-Cities, Yakima and Central Washington since 2015.
Prior to that he was the director of the Washington Department of Agriculture and a former state representative. He is a farmer by trade and his family operates an 850-acre farm in Sunnyside that produces hops, grapes, tree fruit and alfalfa.
Galvin is a former lobbyist. When they married in 2018 they took steps to ensure her work did not create a conflict of interest, according to Herald archives.
Newhouse’s most recent annual financial disclosures list a variety of assets, but by far the majority of his wealth is from majority ownership interests in his family’s farms. His estimated net worth is $13 million to $18 million, which the disclosure shows is largely tied up in family businesses. He took out a loan of $1 million to $5 million to buy out family members’ stake in the property.
Recently, Newhouse has come under fire locally for not hosting a town hall in the district.
Constituents demanding to meet with Newhouse have been particularly concerned about his recent budget votes on a massive federal spending bill with cuts to Medicaid coverage.
Washington’s 4th Congressional District has the highest rate of residents relying on Apple Health and nutrition assistance in the state. It is also the state’s primary agriculture production region.