By Congress is about to be a lot poorer. In a notable about-face, House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed a ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress, framing the issue not merely as one of legality but of legitimacy.
“You want me to tell you my honest opinion on that? I’m in favor of that, because I don’t think we should have any appearance of impropriety here,” he said at a Wednesday news conference, according to Politico. He added that members’ ability to trade had been “abused in the past, and I think sadly, a few bad actors discolor it for everyone.”
The shift comes amid growing public anger and renewed scrutiny of lawmakers’ financial dealings—particularly those that appear to benefit from nonpublic knowledge of pending legislation. Johnson, who had previously remained noncommittal on the issue, now joins a bipartisan chorus that includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who voiced support for similar reforms last month.
Recent revelations have intensified pressure for action. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly bought stocks during a market dip linked to new tariff policies—trades that swiftly appreciated in value. In doing so, she joined a long bipartisan list of members of Congress who have made millions from knowledge allegedly gained from the seats, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
We are so back.
According to QuiverQuant, Nancy Pelosi has made $4,700,000 in the stock market today.
That's 26x her yearly salary.
In one day.
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@PelosiTracker_) May 12, 2025
Republican Senator Josh Hawley, from Missouri, recently introduced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, which would prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from trading certain investments.
Outside the chamber, tech titan Elon Musk has only fanned the flames. In April, he alleged that members of Congress are routinely engaging in insider trading, enriching themselves while overseeing industries they’re supposed to regulate.
Congress ostensibly addressed the problem over a decade ago with the 2012 STOCK Act, which bars lawmakers from trading on material nonpublic information and requires periodic disclosures. But critics say enforcement is toothless and the law’s exemptions are too generous. The latest proposals would go further—banning members from holding or trading individual stocks altogether. Whether such legislation can clear the procedural hurdles that stalled previous attempts remains an open question.
Meanwhile, broader debates over economic policy have exposed new fractures within the Republican coalition. At a POLITICO Live forum held the same day, Sen. Ron Johnson dismissed the House GOP’s proposed tax package—a sweeping plan to extend Trump-era tax cuts and revive other priorities—as “the Titanic.” Without significant spending cuts, he argued, the measure is dead on arrival in the Senate. He also warned that President Trump’s tariff-heavy trade policy is injecting fresh instability into already fragile markets.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat and Finance Committee chair, echoed those concerns. He pointed out that U.S. tariff rates are now five times higher than pre-Trump levels with little to show for it, and called instead for long-term tax reforms aimed at incentivizing domestic manufacturing. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania urged Democrats to go further, embracing a comprehensive industrial policy to counter the GOP’s scattershot approach.
Yet amid the wonky sparring over trade and tax codes, the issue of congressional stock trading continues to command attention—not for its policy implications, but for what it represents. In an era of collapsing institutional credibility, the idea that lawmakers might be quietly profiting from the inside remains one of the few bipartisan outrages still capable of cutting through the noise.
Whether Speaker Johnson’s endorsement will finally break the logjam is unclear. But it signals a recognition that the political cost of inaction—measured in headlines, polling, and public cynicism—may now exceed the price of reform.
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