Ted Cruz's household trades individual securities, primarily through his wife Heidi Cruz, a Goldman Sachs managing director; disclosed STOCK Act activity includes large spouse-owned Goldman Sachs sales (e.g., a $100K-$250K sale in November 2025 at record highs and a ~$375K April 2024 sale) and a 2022 personal Bitcoin purchase of $15K-$50K disclosed shortly after he publicly promoted crypto, though trade frequency is low. Cruz entered the Senate already wealthy (about $2.3M net worth in 2013), and much subsequent household wealth derives from his wife's Goldman Sachs income rather than measurable office-linked enrichment. His campaigns and aligned committees draw heavily from oil and gas (over $900K in 2024) and from the crypto industry (a Bitcoin-focused PAC contributed $350K in 2024), industries on which he has taken consistently favorable legislative positions and which his Commerce Committee chairmanship touches; this is correlation, not proof of quid pro quo. The Campaign Legal Center alleged his iHeartMedia podcast deal improperly funneled money to a supportive PAC, but the FEC dismissed the complaint in early 2025, finding no evidence Cruz directed or received those funds. His Senate attendance has historically dipped during presidential campaigns but is otherwise near the chamber norm. No sourced evidence was found of family lobbying tied to his office or significant personal-benefit spending from campaign funds.
Public record
In Congress since
2013
Committees
Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Chairman) Foreign Relations Rules and Administration Judiciary
Missed votes, 119th Congress
5.1% (47 of 915; median member 1.9%)
Campaign money, 2025–26 cycle
$10M raised · 5% from PACs & committees · $3.0M cash on hand FEC ↗
The stock-trading ban
Senate cloture on H.R. 7008, Sep 30, 2026
Yes
Cosponsored a ban bill
None
H.R. 7008 bans new stock purchases by members, spouses and dependents; it doesn't force sales of existing holdings. The Senate vote was on the version paired with the SAVE Act, which is why no Democrat voted yes. Full breakdown →
Amounts are the ranges members must report, not exact values. The STOCK Act requires a report within 45 days of a trade; "late" counts days past that deadline, measured to the filing date.
How the score breaks down
Stock self-tradinghousehold / spouse
25% weight
40
Household trades individual securities, dominated by large spouse-owned Goldman Sachs positions and sales, plus a personal Bitcoin buy disclosed just after Cruz publicly promoted crypto. Trade frequency is low, but Heidi Cruz is a Goldman Sachs MD (a conflict-relevant financial-sector tie) and one sale landed near GS all-time highs.
Cruz was already a multimillionaire when he entered the Senate (~$2.3M in 2013). Household wealth growth is largely attributable to his wife's Goldman Sachs income and broad-market asset appreciation rather than measurable office-linked enrichment; fact-checkers have rebutted claims of dramatic post-office wealth jumps.
Money → action alignmentcorrelation, not proof of any quid-pro-quo
20% weight
55
Correlation, not proof. Cruz's campaign and aligned vehicles draw heavily from oil and gas and from the crypto industry, sectors on which he takes consistently favorable positions and which his Commerce Committee chairmanship touches. No quid pro quo is asserted.
Watchdogs alleged Cruz's iHeartMedia podcast arrangement improperly routed corporate money to a supportive PAC, raising personal-benefit/soft-money concerns, but the FEC dismissed the complaint, finding no evidence Cruz solicited, directed or received the funds. No other significant personal-use spending was found in sourced records.
Standard staff-to-policy movement exists (e.g., a former chief of staff who became a member of Congress), but no sourced evidence shows family members lobbying his office or a documented staff-to-K-Street pipeline tied to Cruz's office. Cruz has notably co-sponsored a lifetime lobbying ban for ex-lawmakers.
Cruz's attendance dropped sharply during his 2016 presidential run (missing roughly a quarter of votes) but is otherwise near the chamber norm. He maintains heavy fundraising and an outside paid podcast, but no sourced data ties recent missed votes directly to fundraising or paid-speech conflicts.
Sources behind this score: 10 news reporting · 1 data aggregator · 6 reference database · 1 official record. Score = weighted average of the components that have data; the 0 without sourced evidence are excluded, never counted against the member. Methodology →
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