A bipartisan group of nearly 100 former members of Congress is pressing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to pass legislation that would ban members of Congress and their families from trading or owning individual stocks.
Issue One, a Washington-based group advocating bipartisan political reform, released Tuesday a letter signed by 90 former lawmakers — 60 Democrats, 28 Republicans, and two independents — addressed to Johnson and Jeffries.
The group urged House leaders to advance the Restore Trust in Congress Act, introduced Sept. 3.
The legislation, carried by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, would bar members of Congress, their spouses, dependent children, and trustees from owning or trading individual stocks. It would require divestment of covered assets under strict deadlines and empower ethics officials to enforce penalties.
The signers of the letter argued that "public trust in the federal government is at historic lows," and said enacting a stock-trading ban "would be a powerful step toward rebuilding that trust, addressing real and perceived conflicts of interest, and demonstrating that members of Congress prioritize the institution's integrity and their commitment to their constituents above personal gain."
The letter cited a University of Maryland poll that found 86% of Americans support prohibiting congressional stock trading.
It also noted a study by the Rady School of Management showing that public exposure to lawmakers' stock trades significantly erodes trust in the institution and reduces the public's willingness to abide by the law.
In May, Johnson told reporters he supports banning individual stock trading by members of Congress, saying he does not want any "appearance of impropriety," according to The Hill.
He added he has "some sympathy" for the counterargument that lawmakers' salaries have been frozen since 2009 while inflation has risen.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Newsmax last month she is willing to file a discharge petition to force a vote on the legislation. She followed through on that Tuesday.
Discharge petitions, which require 218 votes to succeed, empower rank-and-file members who are frustrated by legislative roadblocks, such as stalled bills in committee or opposition from leadership.
Because Republicans hold such a slim majority, it takes only a few defectors siding with Democrats to advance a petition, as seen with the vote on releasing the Epstein files.
"We have decided because of a lack of movement from the House of Representatives to initiate the discharge petition on banning insider trading," Luna said in a video posted on X. "If leadership wants to put forward a bill that would actually do that and end the corruption, we're all for it."
Jeffries, who has not co-sponsored the bill, accused Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., of opposing the legislation because they lack "interest in cleaning up the corruption that is benefiting members of their party in real time."
"It's not clear to me that the legislation introduced by Chip Roy is actually going to make it out of the Republican-run committee, yet alone on the House floor," Jeffries told reporters.
"House Democrats have made clear we overwhelmingly support a ban on congressional stock trading. And as soon as we can bring a bipartisan bill to the floor, and that may have to wait until we take the gavels back after November 2026, we plan to do it."
Newsmax has reached out to Johnson and Jeffries for comment on the letter.
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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