Senate Panel Votes To Ban Stock Trading For Lawmakers, President, And VP — But Spares Trump

A Senate panel on Wednesday advanced a bill that seeks to prohibit members of Congress, presidents, and vice presidents from trading or holding individual stocks — although it would not affect the current administration in the White House.

As part of an effort led by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), the legislation passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in an 8-7 vote. Democrats joined with Hawley in supporting the measure, while the rest of the Republicans opposed it.

“Americans have watched politicians earn a fortune using information not available to the general public while the average family struggles to get by. It’s just wrong,” Hawley said. “Members of Congress should be focused on delivering results for their constituents, not returns on investments. It’s time to find out where members stand. It’s time we restore trust in Congress and ban all members from trading and holding stocks.”

Featuring a name inspired by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her strong performance in the stock market, the bill initially offered by Hawley sought to keep just lawmakers and their spouses from stock picking, but allow for investment in diversified mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds, and Treasury bonds. President Donald Trump even suggested he would sign the legislation.

A change was later offered to add the president and vice president to the ban, part of what Axios reported to be Hawley’s bid to gain Democrat support. But with the White House raising Article II concerns, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ultimately approved a version that impacts only current office-holders if they get elected to another term — effectively giving Trump a pass, given he’s in his second term. Still, that was enough for the Democrats.

“The American people think ALL politicians, Democrats and Republicans, use our position to enrich ourselves,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) declared in a post on X. “Today, we sent a bill to the Senate floor that bans Members of Congress, the President, and VP from trading stocks. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good first step, and we should pass it into law.”

Now the legislation heads to the full Senate, where the GOP has a 53-seat majority.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he opposed exempting Trump because he believes “everybody should be treated fairly.” He also bemoaned how it excluded the courts and staff of office-holders.

Another Republican on the panel, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), derided what he called “legislative demagoguery.” He noted that insider trading laws and financial disclosure rules already exist. In addition, Johnson warned the measure would “make it very unattractive” for people to run for office, particularly those with business experience.

There is GOP support for a congressional stock trading ban in the House. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has signaled that she will force a vote.

“Members of Congress should be banned from trading individual stocks because their access to privileged, nonpublic information creates unavoidable conflicts of interest that erode public confidence in government,” Luna said in a post on X.

“As lawmakers, we receive classified briefings, shape economic policies, and interact with industry leaders, giving us insights that can influence stock prices. Even if no laws are broken, the appearance of profiting from this access fuels distrust among Americans,” she added. “The American people do not trust the US government and banning stock trading is a step forward to building that trust.”