When the president makes decisions that move markets — and one of his closest supporters in Congress simultaneously makes stock trades that earn or save thousands of dollars — it doesn’t just look bad, it corrodes our democracy from within.
That’s why U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson must do immediately what the American people overwhelmingly want: bring legislation to the House floor to ban congressional stock trading.
President Donald Trump seems to be imposing and then exempting items from tariffs on a daily basis. This enables his closest allies in Congress to profit from advance knowledge at the same time the cost of goods is rising for millions of everyday Americans.
Just last month, U.S.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, executed a flurry of stock trades — between $21,000 and $315,000 worth — on April 8 and 9, including investments in tech companies hit hard by Trump’s tariff threats. Two days later, Trump announced a pause on those tariffs, sending those very stocks soaring. Greene also unloaded between $50,000 and $100,000 in Treasury bills at the same time.
Whether laws were broken, this reeks of impropriety — if not worse. As U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said recently of Greene’s actions, “We are seeing corruption unfold before us in real time.” He added, “We do need to change the law so that sitting members of Congress cannot trade stock. Period. Full stop.”
It’s past time we act — particularly as the Trump administration continues to manipulate markets with its almost daily tariff-roulette. Because of these haphazardly applied tariffs, members of the public are suffering from higher prices for many of the goods they purchase. Members of Congress shouldn’t be able to benefit from their pain.
This is not a new problem. In 2022, members of Congress outperformed the S&P 500 by 17.5%, raising red flags about the abuse of insider information. In 2023, polling showed that 86% of Americans — Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike — support banning members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks.
Yet here we are in 2025, and Congress still hasn’t passed a ban. Why? Because the legislation has not come to the U.S. House floor for a vote.
Earlier this year, U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Cory Mills, R-Fla., and I introduced the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act — legislation that would ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks while in office.
We introduced similar legislation in earlier Congresses. Yet, despite repeated scandals, none of these bills has come to the floor for a vote.
We’ve tried transparency, alone, but it isn’t enough. In 2012, Congress passed the STOCK Act, intended to stop insider trading by lawmakers through requiring U.S. House members to disclose their stock trades.
But enforcement has been weak, consequences minimal and loopholes far too easy to exploit. Members continue to make trades that would land ordinary Americans under federal investigation. That double standard is unacceptable.
The American people deserve better. They deserve a government that works for them, not one that enriches itself through Congress’ unique access to nonpublic information and ability to influence the value of stocks. Every day Speaker Johnson refuses to let the vote on this bill is another day the integrity of this institution is called into question.
Trump’s embrace of tariffs as his main economic policy raises this problem to a new level. Johnson must bring this legislation to the floor when the House reconvenes this month.
Let every member cast their vote for or against banning stock trading by lawmakers before the next election. Let the American people see where each of us stands on this simple question of fairness. Are we in Congress to make change on behalf of our constituents — or to make a buck?
Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, who represents the state’s 8th Congressional District, serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
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