Brink's Stock Trading History Contrasts With Campaign Pledge
House candidate Bridget Brink, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, proposed a federal ban on individual stock trading by government officials while disclosing nearly 180 personal trades worth up to $4 million during her diplomatic tenure. The transactions, revealed in over two dozen State Department ethics filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, span her 2022-2025 ambassadorship under President Joe Biden.
Brink now seeks a Michigan congressional seat as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district. Her anti-corruption plan includes prohibiting presidential appointees like ambassadors from personal stock trading. "I've been criticized as 'focusing too intensely on the issue of corruption,'" she said. "I believe there's no such thing."
Investments Span Tech, Energy, and Chinese-Linked Firms
While leading the Kyiv embassy during Russia's invasion, Brink's portfolio included up to $740,000 in Maxeon Solar, a Singaporean firm acquired by a Chinese energy company in 2024, and $150,000 in Polestar, a Chinese-owned EV manufacturer. She also held stakes in Canadian Solar and NIO Inc., another Chinese EV company. Both sectors face scrutiny as U.S. lawmakers from both parties push to restrict Chinese influence in domestic markets.
Brink's district includes a General Motors plant employing 4,183 workers and an LG battery facility projected to create thousands more jobs. Her recent disclosure shows she sold Polestar and NIO shares but retains up to $15,000 in GM stock. Meanwhile, her past trades included rapid profits: a June 2023 Albemarle purchase (mining firm) sold for up to $50,000 just months later, and Tesla shares bought for up to $30,000 sold for up to $100,000 three months post-purchase.
Brink's spokesman Sam Boorstyn defended her record, stating: "Throughout her 28 years serving our country, Bridget Brink has made ethics and transparency the highest priority." He noted her confirmations by the Trump and Biden administrations and Senate approval. The campaign emphasized her "Restore and Reform Agenda" targeting Trump-era corruption.
Brink resigned as Ukraine ambassador in April 2025 over disagreements with President Donald Trump's war strategy. "Peace at any price is not peace, it's appeasement," she told the New York Times. Her financial disclosures list joint accounts with husband Nicholas Higgins, a career U.S. Foreign Service officer whose current status is unclear following USAID's dissolution.
The revelations coincide with her push to represent a district where manufacturing dominates. Local economic anchors include the GM plant and a Corning solar wafer facility under construction nearby, part of U.S. efforts to counter China's control of 96% of global solar wafer production.