Freshman U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has sold up to $100,000 in stock he owned in Walmart — a full two years after he bashed the company for using “slave labor” and robbing middle-class Americans of jobs.
Vance made a “full" sale of Walmart on Oct. 3, according to a document filed Monday with the U.S. Senate.
Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the bestselling book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” has owned between $50,001 and $100,000 in Walmart stock since at least November 2021, which is when he filed his first candidate report with the U.S. Senate, according to a Raw Story analysis of federal financial disclosures.
"Since taking office, Senator Vance has been working to discharge individual securities as quickly as possible. The investment in question was sold and disclosed in compliance with the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from trading on material non-public information," William Martin, a Vance spokesperson, told Raw Story in a statement.
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While seeking the Republican nomination for his Senate seat, Vance criticized politicians for sending much of the United States’ manufacturing jobs to China.
“They make it more cheaply because they were relying on slave labor. So maybe you go to Walmart and things don't cost as much. But in the process, a lot of middle-class people lost those good jobs that enabled them to support them,” Vance said at an October 2021 event in Dover, Ohio, Salon reported.
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Vance doubled down on the “slave labor” accusation against Walmart in a discussion with conservative commentator Buck Sexton, according to Salon.
“Who cares if you are employing Chinese slaves? Who cares if you are benefiting from the Communist Chinese Party's slave labor?" Vance said. "So long as you are properly woke, so long as you teach diversity, equity and inclusion at your workplace, you won't face any scrutiny, you won't face any consequences."
Vance defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in November to win a six-year term.
