CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Two weeks after voting to pass the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, 5th District Rep. John McGuire sold off over $1,000 of BlackRock Inc. stock, partially divesting himself from one of the companies the legislation targets three days before the bill became law, according to public disclosures.

At the same time, McGuire was one of a number of members of Congress to invest in SpaceX. 

The Housing Act is a bipartisan bill aimed at combatting housing affordability issues. It became law on Saturday after Congress passed it with a veto-proof majority, overcoming attempts by President Donald Trump to stall the legislation’s passing.

The bill puts limitations on institutional investors, preventing them from purchasing single-family homes, potentially hurting profitability. On June 23, the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of which McGuire is a member, labeled BlackRock a “predatory institution.”

BlackRock’s website, however, said the company does not buy single-family homes. BlackRock director Chris Berger told Cville Right Now, in an email, the company supports the

“As a fiduciary asset manager, we invest and manage capital on behalf of our clients in a vast array of public and private U.S. real estate markets – but buying individual homes is not one of them,” according to the website.

McGuire, who is running for re-election in the 5th District, voted in favor of the bill on June 23, then made his trade. Through a spokesperson, McGuire declined to comment for this story. 

In a July 8 periodic transaction report filing, McGuire disclosed that he sold between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of BlackRock Inc. common stock on July 7.

He also divulged purchasing between $1,001 and $15,000 in Space Explorations Technologies Corp., the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. It had its initial public offering in June. 

Reps. Dan Meuser (R-Pa), and Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) also invested in SpaceX in the days following the IPO, according to public disclosures. 

Those investments raised eyebrows because Meuser is on the House Financial Services Committee while Cisneros is on the House Armed Services Committee. Armed Services oversees the Department of Defense, which does business with SpaceX.

McGuire is a member of the House Armed Services and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. On both, he’s a member of subcommittees on cyber security, information technology and innovation. 

It is not illegal for members of Congress to buy and sell stocks, though trades involving companies potentially impacted by pending legislation bring a high level of public scrutiny. It is illegal for members of Congress to benefit from inside information. 

On June 23, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) introduced legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading stocks or cryptocurrency. The effort was blocked by Republicans.

“The American people want Members of Congress to stop trading stocks,” Ossoff said, according to a release from his office. “The American people are sick and tired of this corruption, and in fact, this may be one of the most unifying issues in our deeply divided country.”