Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared on Wednesday that he will begin advocating for a ban on individual stock trading in Congress, arguing that major portfolio gains by lawmakers undermine voter confidence in the system.
When pressed during an interview with “Bloomberg Surveillance” on whether President Donald Trump is prepared to sign off on stock trading legislation making its way through Congress, Bessent said he did not believe a “perfect bill” had been introduced yet, but did express a desire for a crackdown.
“I am going to start pushing for a single stock trading ban because the — it is the credibility of the House and the Senate that you look at some of these eye-popping returns, whether it’s Representative Pelosi, Senator Wyden, every hedge fund would be jealous of them,” Bessent said.
I am pushing for a ban on single-stock trading in Congress. The American people deserve better than politicians like @RonWyden and @SpeakerPelosi with hedge-fund level returns. Public service should be about serving the people, not getting rich. pic.twitter.com/yaXFGRfiMz
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 13, 2025
Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, was referring to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) — both of whom are estimated to be worth millions of dollars.
“And you know, the American people deserve better than this. People shouldn’t come to Washington to get rich,” Bessent continued. “They should come to serve the American people and it brings down trust in the system because, I can tell you, that if any private citizen traded this way, the SEC would be knocking on their door.”
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Pelosi’s well-known success in the stock market during her time in Congress has drawn intense scrutiny, but it may not be examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission or be a focus of any formal investigation any time soon. In fact, just last month, senators shot down a measure seeking an inquiry into her trades.
During a recent appearance on CNN, Pelosi responded to Trump accusing her of insider trading, rejecting the claim.
“That’s ridiculous,” Pelosi said. “In fact, I very much support the — stop the trading of members of Congress, not that I think anybody’s doing anything wrong, if they are, they are prosecuted and they go to jail. But because of the confidence it instills in the American people, don’t worry about this. But I have no concern about the obvious investments that have been made over time, I’m not into it, my husband is, but it isn’t anything to do with anything insider.”
As restrictions already placed on lawmakers have failed to stop violations, Bessent pointed out that both Trump and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have voiced support for a congressional stock trading ban.
“The House and the Senate, they’re supposed to be working for the American people — their constituents,” Bessent said. “They’re supposed to be making law. And they shouldn’t be trading every day. I’m not going to name names, but there was one person in Congress who had 12 or 13 hundred trades two years ago. And you know, my hedge fund didn’t have that many trades.”
Bessent also warned, “There’s something going on on Capitol Hill in terms of information leakage that is statistically … not sound.”