Topline
A key Senate committee voted to proceed with a bill that would prohibit members of Congress, the president and vice president from trading or owning stocks, going against the White House, which lobbied against the legislation when the executive branch was added.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ... More
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7, with all Democrats and one Republican, the sponsor of the legislation, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., voting to advance it.
The initial legislation was called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act (PELOSI), a dig at Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has been heavily criticized for earning millions from trading stocks, sparking accusations of insider trading (which she has denied, and has supported previous legislation to ban congressional stock trading).
In negotiations with Democrats, Hawley agreed to subsite the PELOSI Act for a similar bill known as the Honest Act in exchange for adding a provision that would include the president and vice president in the ban.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance would be exempt since the ban would only take effect at the start of office holders’ new terms.
The White House lobbied against including the executive branch in the ban, multiple outlets reported, though Trump has said previously he supports a stock trading ban for members of Congress.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., urged Democrats to vote against the bill because it included an exemption for Trump and Vance. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, the original bill’s cosponsor, pulled his support when Hawley introduced the modified version, telling lawmakers during a hearing Wednesday “I have no idea what we’re voting for.”
The House Ethics Committee urged Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and his wife Victoria to divest their stock in the steel company Cleveland-Cliffs last week and alleged he failed to “meet his duty of candor” following a four-year investigation into their stock activity. The committee said it did not find any evidence of insider trading, but found “substantial evidence” Kelly violated the congressional code of conduct related to the profit of more than $64,000 his wife earned on the 2020 stock purchase, which came after Kelly lobbied against the closure of a Cleveland-Cliffs factory in his district during Trump’s first term.
Congressional stock trading activity has been scrutinized for decades—with critics arguing lawmakers can unfairly benefit by getting a heads up on policy that could impact stocks—and similar bans have repeatedly been pushed by Congress. Congress members are allowed to trade stocks as long as they publicly report trades valued at more than $1,000 within 45 days, per legislation signed by former President Barack Obama in 2012.
Pelosi Says Congress Stock Trading Bill Could Go To Floor This Month (Forbes)
Lawmakers Traded Up To $1.3 Million In Tesla Stock After Musk Endorsed Trump (Forbes)