Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., introduced a resolution Friday to advance a bill that would end stock trading by members of Congress, moving it from committee to a direct floor vote.
Luna filed a discharge petition regarding the End Congressional Stock Trading Act, a bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. The measure would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading or owning individual stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives, hedge funds, or other complex investment vehicles.
A discharge petition is used to advance a bill that has been stalled in a House committee for 30 legislative days. To succeed, it would need a majority of 218 signatures, but it is often used as a strategic move to pressure leadership or build public and congressional support.
"No one sent to Congress should be enriching themselves through Wall Street while writing the very laws that regulate our markets," Luna said in a statement. "This bill is about accountability, transparency, and restoring faith in the institution of Congress."
Members of Congress have faced scrutiny for years over stock trades that critics argued benefited from privileged, nonpublic information. No one has drawn more attention than Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker whose husband's lucrative investments in tech and other industries have repeatedly sparked accusations of insider advantages.
Although Pelosi has denied wrongdoing and complied with disclosure rules, her family's growing net worth has become a flash point in the broader debate over whether lawmakers should be allowed to trade individual stocks.
While Burchett did not mention Pelosi by name, criticism of her family's well-timed trades and rising net worth fueled public anger over perceived insider advantages in Congress, creating momentum for his legislation.
"If you are making 100-plus-percent returns on your trades, you should be on Wall Street, not in Congress," Burchett said Friday in a statement to Newsmax. "I hope we do the right thing and restore trust in Congress."
Luna hinted Thursday in a post on X that she would be filing the petition: "I realize this will make me very unpopular with some of my colleagues, but I don't care. It's what the American people want and it's also the right thing to do, which is why it's supported by @POTUS and @SecScottBessent."
Trump told Time magazine in April that he would "absolutely" sign a bill banning members of Congress from trading stocks if it reached his desk, citing concerns about lawmakers profiting from insider information, specifically mentioning Pelosi.
Bessent said he supported such a bill earlier this month, telling Bloomberg TV the practice undermines public trust.
"People shouldn't come to Washington to get rich, they should come to serve the American people," he said.
Michael Katz ✉
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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