A bipartisan coalition in the U.S. House is working to negotiate compromise legislation that would ban congressional stock trading, drawing from a pair of bills they have introduced. The group is trying to take advantage of momentum that was generated by recent statements of support for banning congressional stock trades by President Trump and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) told Semafor late last week that he and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), his partner in proposing the TRUST in Congress Act, are working on merging their bill with a similar measure from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). Both bills would require members of Congress and their families to divest their stocks or place them in a blind trust, though the measures have some differences. Magaziner said that Jeffries is supporting their proposal; however, no House Republican leaders have yet said they will bring a stock trading ban up for a vote.
Jeffries reiterated his support for banning congressional stock trading on April 15, the day after Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) disclosed she had purchased up to $315,000 of stocks shortly ahead of Trump’s unexpected announcement that his global tariffs plan would be paused. In an appearance on MSNBC, Jeffries said, “we do need to change the law so that sitting members of Congress cannot trade stock, period.” Jeffries reiterated his position in an Instagram post, saying, “It’s time to ban Congressional stock trading,” while calling out Greene’s latest stock moves. Jeffries previously endorsed banning congressional stock trades in 2022.
