The spouse of a House Intelligence Committee member bought stock in the quantum computing firm IonQ just weeks before the company announced it was awarded a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). IonQ’s stock has spiked by a third since the announcement on Tuesday.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) became a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last year, a panel that largely meets in closed sessions and routinely receives classified reports from the Director of National Intelligence and other intelligence community figures. Under the committee’s rules, all members shall have access to all classified papers and other material received by the Committee from any source. This broad access includes sensitive intelligence on national security topics including emergent technology like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
A financial disclosure filed with the House Clerk shows his spouse, Jennifer M. Steube, purchased up to $15,000 worth of IonQ stock on March 18. She works as a senior trust portfolio manager with financial services firm Synovus.
Prior to the pickup, her last stock buy had been in July 2025, when she purchased shares of General Motors. The shares in IonQ are the only technology stock in her portfolio. No member of Congress or their household has previously bought or sold IonQ’s stock, according to Capitol Trades, which maintains a public archive of congressional stock trades since 2023.
