Cue the Jaws theme, guys. We’ve got another politician dipping into the stock market’s choppy waters. But no, this isn’t Nancy Pelosi or her husband "Underwear Paul" betting the farm on Nvidia call options. 

This time, the spotlight’s on Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a United States Representative who oh so coincidentally sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction (that’s a mouthful). Her latest move? A cheeky little buy-in with ViaSat, a company knee-deep in military communications tech.

(Source: Washington Post)

Now, the timing here is a little suspect. With Russia and Ukraine playing missile tag and every doomsday pundit whispering “World War Three,” Schultz dropped up to $15,000 on ViaSat stock in late October. Modest on paper, sure. But let’s not pretend this was her version of throwing darts at a stock chart. Also, isn’t $15K kind of steep for someone who reportedly makes $89K a year? (Guess she skipped those student loan payments.)

On the surface, ViaSat seems like a slam dunk. Military communications, rising defense budgets, geopolitical chaos (it’s like a Mad Libs of profitable sectors). But here’s where things go sideways. Prior to Debbie’s little dabble, ViaSat’s stock had been trading at all-time lows. Since her investment? It swan-dived another 32% and is now down 66% this year. If this is a “strategic play,” it’s one hell of a long shot.

To be fair, ViaSat has been working overtime to stop the carnage. They’ve eliminated their net loss from $767 million to $138 million, landed a record $1.3 billion in new defense contracts, and launched some fancy broadband service in Mexico. But none of that has stopped Barclays from mercilessly cutting its price target from $24 to $9, citing Elon Musk’s Starlink empire as the big reason why. In other words, Space Karen might be stealing ViaSat’s lunch money (and then tweeting about it).

Now, let’s zoom in on Schultz. She isn’t just some retail trader scrolling Robinhood in her pajamas. She’s on a subcommittee that (you guessed it) oversees military infrastructure. Call me cynical, but when a congresswoman buys stock in a military contractor while crafting policies that might make it rain for said contractor, it feels less like coincidence and more like “insider trading with a fancy title.”

Oh, and let’s not forget her previous escapades. Earlier this year, Schultz grabbed shares of Hecla Mining right before gold and silver prices popped off, making her look like Nostradamus in a pantsuit. Add to that her track record of 113 trades worth $1.75 million, and you’ve got yourself a portfolio that screams “I know something you don’t.”

For those of you thinking, “If Debbie’s in, I’m in,” maybe put down the Robinhood app and grab a calculator instead. Sure, ViaSat’s $9.41 price tag might look like a steal (if you’re into fixer-uppers with a collapsing foundation), but that debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28 should make you pause. Translation: For every dollar it owns, it owes $1.28. That’s not “investing in growth,” that’s “balancing the books with duct tape and hope”.

But let’s not get distracted by ViaSat’s debt situation. The real question here is how Schultz has managed to trade $1.75 million worth of stock on an $89K salary. (Did she find a congressional cheat code we don’t know about? Asking for a friend.)

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Stock.News has positions in Robinhood.