Congress trading in Defense: What are they buying?

In early 2026, Congress approved a record-breaking defense budget totaling over $900 billion. For FY 2027, President Trump has already proposed increasing the budget to $1.5 trillion.

With the U.S. involved in several military engagements, and a new record-breaking investment in the military looming, Congress is acting quickly to buy stocks in some of the federal government’s closest defense contractors — including Lockheed Martin (LMT), Boeing (BA), General Dynamics (GD), Raytheon/RTX (RTX), Northrop Grumman (NOC), L3Harris (LHX), Honeywell (HON), and Palantir (PLTR).

Using Quiver Quantitative’s Congress Trading data, we compiled information on which members of Congress have purchased defense stocks over the past six months, leading up to increased military action in the Middle East.

In the last six months, Rep. Gilbert Cisneros (D-CA) has beaten out all other members of Congress in the number of stocks he has purchased from major federal defense contractors. Since September 2025, he has purchased nine shares in major defense companies, including General Dynamics, RTX (Raytheon), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and Palantir. Nearly half of those purchases were for Palantir.

The former Naval Officer serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Department of Defense and the U.S. Armed Forces.

In September 2025, Corporate PAC donors to Cisneros included major defense companies, including Boeing, GD, and Lockheed Martin

Current nominee for DHS secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), not only holds stocks in major defense contractors but has also seen significant returns from his stocks in the energy industry, which has seen rapid price swings following military action in the Middle East.

Mullin currently holds stocks in major defense contractor L3Harris (LHX), which he purchased in early 2025 and is estimated to have over 50% in excess returns. Just weeks before military involvement in the Middle East escalated, Mullin also purchased multiple stocks in McKesson Corporation (MCK), a major DoD and VA contractor, sending medical supplies and equipment to U.S. military treatment facilities.

The DHS secretary nominee’s interest in the energy industry is also notable, due to the direct impact the conflict has on the global energy supply. So far, the Middle East conflict has stirred up the stock market, with major energy companies’ stock soaring due to higher energy prices and greater demand as disruptions in exports continue.

Mullin’s stocks in major energy companies — Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), and Valero (VLO) — have seen considerable returns, estimated between 20-60%. Mullin’s recent purchase of CVX stock (purchased Dec. 29, 2025) has an estimated 40% in excess returns.

Out of 20 defense stocks purchased from major U.S. contracted defense companies, half of them were for Palantir.

Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Cisneros, who both serve on the House Armed Services Committee, purchased multiple shares of the company in the last six months.

While not manufacturing weapons for the U.S. Military, Palantir has become a major asset to the U.S. Government in military operations through its advanced analytics and AI software, which is used to identify targets and craft possible strikes.

The company has drawn criticism for its algorithms in target selection, but it remains the largest software contractor for the U.S. military.

Beyond Khanna and Cisneros, Reps. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Roger Williams (R-TX), Richard Dean and McCormick (R-GA) also purchased stocks in major defense companies over the last six months.

Fields and Jackson both bought larger stocks in Palantir, estimated to be between $15k and $50k, while Mullin reportedly purchased between $15k and $50k in RTX (Raytheon) stocks.