Robinhood Blocking Users From Purchasing Certain Stocks Is So Universally Enraging That AOC And Ted Cruz Are On The Same Side Of An Issue, For Once

In an exceptionally rare move, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Senator Ted Cruz agree that there needs to be an investigation into the investment app Robinhood after it made a controversial decision to stop retail investors from buying GameStop stocks on Thursday morning. Citing “recent volatility,” Robinhood is restricting transactions for stocks that have been targeted by Reddit users. As of this writing, stocks like GameStop and AMC can’t be purchased, however, they can be sold. It’s this odd discrepancy that caught the attention of AOC who tweeted out a link to a Motherboard article on Robinhood’s abrupt move to control the chaotic market situation.

“This is unacceptable,” AOC tweeted. “We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit. As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary.”

Not even ten minutes later, Cruz retweeted AOC with the message, “Fully agree.”

The GameStop stock fiasco has been a viral sensation due to its hilarious randomness that’s been perfect for meme-ing. It’s also demonstrated some of the absurdities of the stock market and how it’s not an accurate measure of America’s economy despite proclamations from the previous administration.

That said, AOC and Cruz are correct that there needs to be a federal investigation into what exactly has been happening the GameStop stocks and Robinhood. Late Wednesday evening, former Wall Street professional Alexis Goldstein wrote an lengthy explainer that’s been gaining traction due to its deep dive into how Robinhood acted as a “fig leaf” in a battle that wasn’t a “David vs. Goliath” situation where everyday people were sticking it to hedge funds. Instead, Goldstein details how the GameStop squeeze was still hedge funds vs. hedge funds with Robinhood playing a questionable role as “populist” facilitator that demands further scrutiny.

In a late-breaking development, it sure looks like AOC is not interested in working with Cruz at all, but she’s “[h]appy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.” (And the failed MAGA coup fallout continues.)

(Via Ted Cruz on Twitter)