Members of Congress say enough is enough – they don’t want lawmakers trading stocks, and they are determined to end the practice within the next year and a half. A bipartisan group — which includes fiscal conservatives like Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Democratic Socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. — introduced a bill to ban members and their families from stock trading.
“When members of Congress come here, they should not be able to profit off of inside information that the average American and the average market participant does not have access to,” Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., said.
The Restore Trust in Congress Act
The bill prohibits lawmakers, their spouses, dependent children and their trustees from owning, buying or selling individual assets like stocks and securities. It requires members to divest those assets within 180 days of its passage, or within 90 days for incoming members who were just elected.
“If anyone says, ‘You know, 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.
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What are the consequences of noncompliance?
If members don’t comply, they’ll have to pay a fine equal to 10% of the covered asset plus hand over the profits from any transactions.
The bill does allow members to put money in mutual funds and ETFs that are diversified and not specific to an industry or business.
In an effort to ensure compliance, members will be allowed to defer any capital gains taxes when they divest individual stocks by reinvesting them in a mutual fund.
“We won’t make you have a big tax bill, but you are going to have to divest of all of this individual equities and put them into broadly held funds so you’re not going to being able to day trade,” Roy said.
What’s the timeline for the bill?
The lawmakers want leadership to call the bill for consideration this month. If not, they said they would bring forward a discharge petition that would force a vote. They are determined to get it done this Congress, which ends in 2026.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill in the Senate to ban member trading. The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee approved the legislation. However, it does not appear to have a chance at approval in its current state because Republicans in the chamber and President Trump disapprove of it.
How much do lawmakers invest?
According to Capitol Trades, which tracks lawmakers’ investment activity, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has traded the most this year, both in terms of value and quantity. He’s made 2,938 valued at more than $41 million.
There are three other members in the eight-figure club: Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ.
Many of the highest-ranking members were wealthy when they entered Congress, either due to their wealthy spouses or having amassed wealth in a previous career.
According to Capitol Trades, the most popular stocks amongst elected officials are Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet (Google) and Apple.
There have been some trades very specific to legislation and the districts in which the representatives live. A report in the New York Times revealed that Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., sold between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of bonds issued by a rural hospital that was listed at risk of closure due to Medicaid cuts in the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill.”
