EXCLUSIVE: GOP Senate Nominee Shorting U.S. Treasury Bonds, Would Profit From Government Default

The Republican nominee in Ohio’s Senate race stands to reap a significant financial windfall if the government defaults by not raising the debt ceiling, a move he opposed last year and has indicated he would vote against if elected to the Senate.

According to personal financial disclosure documents examined by ThinkProgress, Josh Mandel’s wife owns an undisclosed amount of ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury exchange-traded fund (ETF). This ETF aggressively “shorts” U.S. Treasury bills, meaning that it bets against U.S. debt and spikes when Treasury bill values drop. If a default were to occur, the desirability of Treasury bills would plummet and Mandel’s ETF would skyrocket in value.

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A republican running for a senate seat in Ohio has invested in a fund that will gain value if the dept ceiling isn't raised and he has vowed to not vote for any dept ceiling if he wins his election.

Wow just Amazing.

From your link:

Mandel and his wife’s personal financial disclosure form shows an investment of up to $1,001 in the Treasury-shorting ETF (highlighted in yellow):

$1,000 or less? That's it? And he's not changing his vote on the issue anyway, so it's not influencing him. What kind of profit can you hope for from an investment that size? $300?

Sorry, I can't see why this story matters. It seems more like a misleading political attack on a Republican by a very Democratic site.

reply to post by charles1952


From the link:

In addition, it appears as though Mandel’s wife may own up to $15,000 in additional holdings that bet against U.S. Treasury bonds. As shown below, Mandel lists on page 18 ownership of up to $15,000 of “ProShares Trust Ultrashort (Bond).”

From the link these were the same type of investment Eric Cantor was in. Nice to bet against America and hope for a profit.

reply to post by LDragonFire

Dear LDragonFire,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I missed it. I thought I was at the end of the article.

Interesting that it's a bond though. That value doesn't go up or down based on the market or the debt ceiling. As you know it's more like a loan. No bet here, they just keep getting paid the same amount of interest on it year after year until the bond is redeemed. I still think the only bet is the $1 to $1000 one.

With respect,
Charles1952