Energy Budget Manager Bets on Gold Mining and US Treasury ETFs

According to disclosures filed with the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Congressman Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann purchased up to $50,000 worth of the iShares 3–7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) on January 28, 2020. The same filings, finalized on February 9, 2026, show that on that day he also acquired several other ETFs—including the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)—with individual purchases capped at roughly $15,000 each.

Fleischmann, a senior GOP member representing Tennessee’s 3rd District, serves on both the House Appropriations Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, where he chairs the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. He has publicly championed “energy independence,” backing investments in nuclear power, fossil fuels, and U.S. nuclear research, as well as measures to reduce reliance on foreign critical minerals through the federal budget. Given his authority over both legislation and appropriations, his personal trades in Treasury and gold-mining ETFs—executed just before the COVID-19 pandemic—have prompted questions about potential conflicts of interest. Fleischmann also faced criticism under the STOCK Act in 2021 for late reporting of trades in DraftKings and Zimmer Biomet, underscoring recurring regulatory and ethics risks surrounding his financial dealings.

The iShares 3–7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) is a flagship intermediate-term U.S. Treasury ETF, investing in bonds maturing in three to seven years. Following the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hike cycle, yields stabilized and then declined in 2024–2025, delivering mid-3% annual returns and around 6% year-to-date, reflecting investors’ appetite for defensive fixed-income assets. Although the ETF experienced volatility during the pandemic’s early rate cuts and the subsequent inflation-driven rate surge, expectations of further Fed easing and gradual disinflation have recently supported a broad recovery across bond ETFs. Still, mounting U.S. deficits and the prospect of rising long-term yields could constrain future capital gains.

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which tracks large-cap gold-mining companies worldwide, soared in 2025 as gold prices hit an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce—lifting GDX toward triple-digit annual gains—and delivered roughly 20% year-to-date returns by late January 2026. However, the ETF has also seen sharp pullbacks, with single-day drops exceeding 10%, as shifts in the U.S. dollar’s strength and changing interest-rate expectations drive heightened volatility. Given Fleischmann’s pivotal role in promoting domestic energy and critical-minerals supply chains through legislation and budgeting, his concentrated stake in a gold-mining ETF risks stirring further conflict-of-interest concerns. At the same time, Congress is moving to ban members’ individual stock trades—allowing only broadly diversified ETFs—and debate is intensifying over whether sector-specific ETFs, such as those focused on energy or minerals, should receive any special exemption.