Senate panel approves bill to ban elected officials' stock trades [View all]

Source: Roll Call

Posted July 30, 2025 at 6:13pm


GOP senators sparred with fellow Republican Josh Hawley on Wednesday over a Hawley-authored bill that would ban trading and ownership of stocks and certain other assets by lawmakers, the president and vice president and their spouses and dependent children. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the bill on a slim 8-7 vote after earlier adopting a Hawley substitute amendment that extended the prohibitions beyond just members of Congress, reaching into the Oval Office.

The compromise amendment would give officials elected before the date of enactment until after their current term to divest their assets. So President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance would need to sell their holdings in 2029 — exempting Trump from the requirements, since this is his last term — current House members would have until 2027, and so forth.

The original bill only applied to lawmakers and was co-sponsored by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. The bill was titled the “PELOSI Act,” a reference to past accusations by Republicans that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., benefited from inside information in stock trading.

The substitute amendment — approved 8-7 — changed the title, dropped Moreno and added Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the Homeland Security panel’s ranking member, as co-sponsor. “Let’s be honest, this is a publicity show,” Moreno said. Pelosi issued a statement in support of the bill. “While I appreciate the creativity of my Republican colleagues in drafting legislative acronyms, I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service,” she said.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/07/30/senate-panel-advances-bill-banning-congressional-stock-trading/