A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives—ranging from progressives to MAGA true believers—unveiled legislation Wednesday to ban stock trading for members of Congress and their relatives.
The surprising group has united behind one bill dubbed the Restore Trust in Congress Act, which Democratic Representative Seth Magaziner and far-right Republican Chip Roy officially introduced.
At the bill’s announcement on Wednesday, progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said any prospective members of Congress who are vexed by the proposal are probably not cut out to serve.
“If anyone says, ‘This isn’t fair. I’m going to have to divest all my stocks if I’m going to run for Congress,’ maybe you should stay home,” said Ocasio-Cortez. She added that it’s “outrageous” that some representatives see the proposed ban as “some undue burden.”
Ocasio-Cortez also observed the need for more working-class representation in a Congress where millionaires are overwhelmingly overrepresented. “I feel that actually banning the trade of individual stock can help even the playing field,” she said.
AOC: If anybody says “this isn’t fair, I’m gonna have to divest all my stocks if I run for congress” maybe you should stay home. pic.twitter.com/xC55wk5uFl
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 3, 2025
“This body has been enriching itself on the taxpayer’s dime, and, dadgummit, it’s got to stop,” added MAGA Representative Tim Burchett.
Progressive Democrat Pramila Jayapal spoke to the importance of voters knowing their representatives “are taking votes on issues where they’re not thinking about their own stock portfolio.”
“This is beyond an 80–20 issue,” said Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. “This is a 95–5 issue, and the five that are against it are probably in this institution day trading.”
Asked why the bill is limited to the legislative branch, Magaziner suggested that a ban on stock trading for the president and vice president could be introduced down the line, as an amendment or a separate bill.
“Many of us, I think in both parties, support including the president and vice president,” he said. “We are working to see if we can get a critical mass of support to include them or not.”
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