A bipartisan group of at least nine U.S. senators reported stock transactions last year involving companies in industries overseen by the committees they serve on, according to a CNN report Monday that has reignited concerns over conflicts of interest and stalled ethics reform on Capitol Hill.
The disclosures, drawn from financial filings compiled by watchdog group Capitol Trades and reviewed by CNN, show lawmakers bought and sold shares in businesses directly affected by legislation and regulatory oversight — a practice that critics say erodes public trust and highlights systemic ethical issues in Washington.
While the reported trades are legal under current rules, they have alarmed government watchdogs and rank-and-file Americans alike.
"It's all extremely troubling," said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, telling CNN that both Republicans and Democrats are implicated in the practice.
Among senators whose disclosed trades raised eyebrows were Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. — all of whom sit on committees with jurisdiction over the very industries in which they traded stocks.
For instance, Moody, who recently introduced a bipartisan bill to ban members of Congress from personally trading stocks, reported investments in up to five healthcare companies, including Eli Lilly, which has spent millions lobbying lawmakers and was the subject of recent Senate hearings on drug pricing.
Moody's office defended her filings, telling CNN she had no role in directing her investment decisions.
Despite growing public support for a ban on congressional stock trading — fueled in part by high-profile sell-offs at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and active portfolios held by lawmakers such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. — efforts to pass meaningful reform have stalled in Congress.
Recent polling shows overwhelming voter support for stricter ethics rules and a prohibition on members trading individual stocks, yet bipartisan consensus in the Senate remains elusive.
Critics argue that until stronger rules are enacted, the public will continue to see a two-tiered system in which lawmakers can profit from the same markets they regulate.
Supporters of reform say this episode underscores the need for transparency and accountability in government — a message that could resonate with voters frustrated by what they see as ethical laxity in Washington.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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