House Moves Toward Congressional Stock Trading Ban Amid Calls for Accountability

By Michael Katz | Friday, 19 December 2025 04:07 PM EST

The House plans to vote early next year on a congressional stock-trading ban after Republicans reached a compromise that would limit the prohibition to lawmakers, not the president or vice president.

“I think we’re going to deliver a really strong product in 2026,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said.

Roy declined to discuss specifics but noted the legislation would include “a lot of elements” from his Restore Trust in Congress Act, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., and 118 other members.

The bill would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading stocks, securities, commodities, futures, or similar financial assets. It would also require lawmakers to divest such holdings within 180 days after the bill’s enactment, with future members of Congress needing to complete the divestment within 90 days of taking office.

Roy stated that the final legislation will be the product of the Republican conference and expressed hope for bipartisan backing.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill but noted support remains well below the 218 signatures needed.

Leading House Republicans and Democrats opposed the petition and are pursuing separate proposals, according to recent reports.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., indicated he would not support the legislation unless it also banned presidents, vice presidents, and their spouses from trading stocks.

Magaziner introduced a bill this week that included such a provision and reportedly plans to launch a discharge petition to force a vote.

“There is absolutely no justification for the president, who has far more power than any individual member of Congress, or the vice president to be able to trade stocks in real time when they have more access to inside information than perhaps the entire United States Congress combined as it relates to regulatory activity,” Magaziner said.

Jeffries stated that Democrats are currently focused on securing a vote on a discharge petition to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years.

That petition reached the required 218 signatures Wednesday, though the vote cannot take place until the House returns January 6. The subsidies are set to expire December 31.

“The executive branch has rules,” Roy said. “Right now, we’re trying to just focus on cleaning up our own mess, and then we can try to look elsewhere if we need to.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met Thursday with Roy, Luna, and other Republicans pushing the stock-trading ban, including Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

The lawmakers left confident the emerging legislation would achieve their goal of banning congressional stock trading.

“I think it would be stupid for any member of Congress to not vote for this,” Luna said. “It is the most bipartisan issue. Now, we have to make sure that the Senate does it too.”

Luna added that the executive branch already has stronger stock-trading restrictions than Congress.

“If Congress had these same rules for stock trading as the executive branch, there wouldn’t be insider trading,” she said.

President Donald Trump has indicated he would sign a congressional stock-trading ban if one reached his desk.

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

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