Dems introduce bill to crack down on Congressional stock trading

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A group of House Democrats introduced legislation that would ban members of Congress and the executive branch from owning and trading stock.

Members of Congress are currently allowed to trade stock. They are required to disclose those trades to comply with the 2012 STOCK Act. The law also bans them from using nonpublic information to make trades.

Members on both sides of the aisle say current rules don’t do enough to combat potential corruption.

“Since January 2025 alone, members of Congress have made millions of off of insider trading on individual stocks, individual stocks whose values are directly tied by the decisions and the votes that they take here. The top five traders from both parties traded $329 million worth of individual, individual stocks this Congress alone,” said Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.).

He is leading the effort among House Democrats to pass the Restore Trust in Government Act.

The bill would ban members of Congress, along with the president, vice president and cabinet members and their close family members, from owning or trading stocks and other financial instruments.

“Mr. Speaker, listen to what the American people are saying. Restore integrity in Washington and bring the Restore Trust in Government Act to the House floor,” Vasquez said.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) brought a bill addressing congressional stock trading to the floor July 22 when the House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act largely along party lines.

“Too often, Americans struggling to make ends meet have watched as lawmakers have entered office to leave as multimillionaires. There’s a handful of glaring examples of those people still serving,” Johnson said July 21.

That bill would ban members and their families from buying new stock and require them to file public notice before selling stocks they already own.

Democrats called the bill a “Trojan horse,” arguing it doesn’t go far enough because it still allows members to own stock and does not include the executive branch.

The GOP bill also included parts of the SAVE America Act, which aims to add new requirements for Americans to vote in federal elections.