Rep. Lisa McClain strongly denied that her family’s purchase of private xAI stock was based on insider information, noting they would have bought more than 100,000 shares if they had known. Sludge reported the purchase on December 15, valued between $100,000 and $250,000; a week later the Pentagon announced plans to integrate xAI’s chatbot Grok into its networks. Sludge found no evidence McClain had prior knowledge, and concerns about Grok’s outputs have prompted regulatory scrutiny.
Rep. Lisa McClain Defends Husband’s xAI Stock Purchase After Pentagon Integration Announcement
Rep. Lisa McClain joked that if she had been engaging in insider trading when purchasing shares in xAI, she would have purchased a lot more. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Republican Rep. Lisa McClain offered a forceful rebuttal after questions arose about whether her family’s purchase of private stock in Elon Musk’s xAI was tied to non-public information. The purchase, made by McClain’s husband, occurred days before the Department of Defense announced plans to expand the use of xAI’s chatbot, Grok, within its networks.
On NewsNation, host Connell McShane asked McClain about a report published by Sludge that her husband bought between $100,000 and $250,000 in private xAI shares on December 15, roughly one week before the Pentagon’s announcement. McClain, who is Chair of the House Republican Conference, responded:
“100 percent. Because if it was, we wouldn’t have bought 100,000 shares. We would’ve bought a heck of a lot more.”
Defense Secretary Hegseth has announced plans to heavily integrate Elon Musk's Grok with the Pentagon's networks. / screen grab
Sludge’s reporting did not find evidence that McClain had advance knowledge of the Defense Department’s intentions. During the interview, McClain reiterated that the Pentagon does not publicly release such plans and said she had no insider information.
By law, members of Congress and their immediate family are prohibited from using non-public information obtained through official duties for personal financial gain, a restriction that helps explain the political sensitivity of the purchase’s timing.
Grok has come under severe scrutiny after X users began using it to create images of women, including minors, in various states of undress. / NurPhoto / Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Pentagon Announcement And Controversy Around Grok
A week after the stock transaction, Defense officials announced an effort to integrate Grok into portions of the department’s networks to provide real-time, unclassified insights to personnel. Pentagon leaders later said the tool would also be granted access to classified networks as part of a broader push to accelerate adoption of generative AI in the military.
The announcement came amid controversy over Grok’s recent outputs. Social-media users reportedly used the chatbot to generate explicit images, including images involving minors, and the tool has produced other problematic or false statements. Those incidents prompted the UK media regulator to open an investigation into X “as a matter of priority.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the integration would go live later this month, adding that the department intends to deploy leading AI models across unclassified and classified networks.
What’s Known—and What Isn’t
Key facts confirmed so far: the date and estimated value of the private stock purchase; the timing of the Pentagon’s announcement; the absence of public evidence that McClain had prior knowledge; and ongoing concerns about Grok’s behavior that have drawn regulatory scrutiny. Sludge’s reporting sparked the questions; McClain has denied any wrongdoing.
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