House Democrats introduced their own ban on lawmakers trading stocks Tuesday that would cover President Donald Trump as well — probably quashing a separate bipartisan effort that has been simmering for weeks.
The proposal sponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) and backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) is similar to a bipartisan measure that would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependents from owning or trading stocks.
But the Democratic proposal would also extend the same prohibition to the president and vice president and their families — a key sticking point for Democrats and a provision that will probably make the bill unpalatable to Republicans, most likely dooming the idea of a ban before next year’s elections.
“We need bold action to end corruption throughout our government,” Magaziner said in a statement to The Washington Post, adding that he introduced the legislation at the request of House Democratic leadership and that he plans to file a discharge petition on the bill in January, which would force a vote on the bill if 218 House members sign.
Magaziner’s petition would follow a separate petition from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) to force a vote on another bipartisan stock trading ban led by Magaziner and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) that would not extend to the executive branch. That petition has 72 signatures as of Wednesday.
Magaziner said he will continue to “support and advocate” for Luna’s discharge petition: “I urge my colleagues to support bringing these bills to the floor for a vote, and taking decisive action to clean up corruption in Washington.”
The dueling petitions may delay action on either proposal, though, as Democrats are likely to support the plan their leadership has backed and Republicans are unlikely to back legislation that would restrain Trump. The White House lashed out at Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) earlier this year over concerns that his proposal to ban lawmaker stock trading would also apply to the executive branch; the proposal was later changed to apply to lawmakers after their term ends, exempting Trump.
If passed by the House, either proposal would need to get at least 60 votes to get around a filibuster in the Senate, which is controlled 53-47 by Republicans.
House Democrats are eager to address the issue, but on their own terms. A main plank of Democrats’ agenda going into the midterms yearfocuses on government corruption, arguing to voters that if they regain the majority, they will ban stock trades by public officials.
Lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to strengthen restrictions on congressional stock trading since at least 2018. There have been 23 new measures introduced since January to restrict lawmakers’ ability to trade stocks. Many of the proposals would allow members to trade bundled assets like mutual funds or ETFs, just not shares in individual companies, and require storing assets in qualified blind trusts.
But Republican leaders have been slow to advance any of them, including Roy and Magaziner’s bill, which has 115 bipartisan co-sponsors, or Hawley’s bill that passed a Senate committee in July.
Support for Luna’s petition has grown slowly over the last two weeks, as lawmakers on both sides held back to see how their leadership might proceed.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has consistently said he personally supports limiting stock trading by members to avoid the appearance of conflicts, but that he understands concerns that a ban could dissuade qualified people from running for office.
“No one wants insider trading, and we want to make sure no one is violating the law,” Johnson told reporters earlier this month. “It has to be worded correctly and we need consensus on it … so we’re working through that process.”
Democrats have argued that any ban on lawmakers’ stock trading should also extend to the president, citing concerns about the Trump family’s appearances of conflicts of interest in the cryptocurrency industry, among others.
Asked earlier this month why Jeffries hasn’t backed Luna’s discharge petition, Jeffries argued the Republican “parachuted in” to the issue.
“It’s Democrats who are actually serious about enacting a congressional stock ban, and we’re committed to using every tool available to make sure that this happens,” he said. “We’re committed to this effort on the House Democratic side. And as a matter of fact, if she’s interested in dealing with corruption, do something about the active ongoing crime scene coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Insider trading is already illegal, by members of Congress or anyone else. Yet good-government advocates have long raised concerns that lawmakers have access to information the general public does not, creating potential conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety when trust in Congress is near historic lows.
Congress passed a law in 2012 that requires lawmakers to file a public disclosure of financial transactions, including purchases or sales of stock, that exceed $1,000 within 45 days.
Proponents of banning stock trading by members of Congress argue that the 2012 law, the Stock Act, fails to dissuade lawmakers from taking advantage of the privileged information they can access. They argue it does not require members to report the specific amount of their trades, allows too long for reporting, does not include stringent enough consequences for violating the law, and still allows for the appearance of conflicts.
A 2023 poll from the University of Maryland found that an overwhelming majority of Americans across the political spectrum — 87 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of independents — support banning stock trading in individual companies for members of Congress.
A group of 90 former members of Congress wrote to Johnson and Jeffries earlier this month, urging them to advance Roy and Magaziner’s bill, and 10 ethics groups urged House members to sign on to the legislation in November.
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