Over the past week, many people have raised the prospect of “insider trading,” sparked by a spike in trading volume that preceded President Trump’s social media post on the morning of April 9 that it was a good time to buy. A few hours after he posted, Trump announced he would be pausing certain tariffs for 90 days, news that sent the S&P 500 on a one-day jump of 9.5%.
The tantalizing question is whether Trump allies—administration officials, members of Congress, or supporters from the investment industry—might have been given advance notice to take positions in assets, like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), that saw their values soar.
Today, one Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), released a financial disclosure showing nearly two dozen stock purchases made on April 8 and 9, just before Trump’s announcement.
Over the past seven-plus years, many bills have been introduced in Congress that would have greatly limited the ability of members of Congress and the executive branch to trade, or own, stocks and other shares like ETFs. The lax ability for executive branch officials to buy stocks and other securities could have been dramatically constrained, if these ethics measures had been signed into law.
Poll after poll shows that banning stock trading, or ownership, by government officials is highly popular. Many of the bills have been sponsored by the rank and file of both parties, and have been co-sponsored by scores of House members. According to a Sludge review, more than 100 unique members of Congress have co-sponsored such bills during the previous two sessions of Congress. But the bills have effectively been stopped by congressional leaders of both parties: no bill limiting lawmakers’ stock trading has been granted a committee vote in the House, and no bill on the topic has been voted on by the full Senate. Congressional leaders like Chuck Schumer who are now voicing concerns over “insider trading” are the ones who have been sitting on bills that could have constrained insiders from making moves for profit.
