Voters have a right to know that their elected representatives are acting in the public’s best interest and are not motivated by their personal financial interests.
However, the lack of constraints on congressional stock trading means there is little to prevent lawmakers from accruing personal wealth through strategic trading, possibly at the expense of prioritizing the needs of everyday Americans.
This is why Congress should pass legislation to ban lawmakers from buying or selling stocks while in office.
The Need to Ban Congressional Stock Trading
As long as sitting elected officials are allowed to trade stocks, at least some will be incentivized to prioritize their own pocketbooks over policymaking.
To prevent corruption and conflicts of interest, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has long called on Congress to ban stock trading by sitting lawmakers, because these individuals often have access to inside information before the broader public and they create the very laws that shape the economy.
In the absence of these stronger rules, we’ve seen congressional stock trading proliferate. This has led to repeated examples of ethical violations and questionable financial activity, including during global health emergencies and times of great economic uncertainty.
Rather than wait for another wave of questionable trading during the next economic crisis to further deteriorate public trust in our institutions, lawmakers must come together and pass legislation that updates the STOCK Act with a comprehensive solution to this pervasive problem.
Thankfully, several strong proposals already exist, including the Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act and the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act.
In addition, in July 2025, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed S. 1498, a bill that closely mirrors the ETHICS Act and would ban sitting members of Congress — along with the sitting president and vice president — from buying and selling stocks, as well as other securities, commodities or futures.
The reforms in these bills are necessary to address voters’ growing concerns about corruption and the conflicts of interest that can arise when elected officials trade stock.
CLC urges both chambers of Congress to pass this legislation or a similarly strong proposal. Doing so would bring greater accountability and transparency to Congress and ensure lawmakers are working in the best interests of the American people and not their financial portfolios.
The Link Between Economic Crises and Trades
There seems to have emerged a link between economic crises and the enrichment of lawmakers: For instance, in 2020, CLC discovered that U.S. Senators and Representatives bought stocks in companies that were expected to see a boost during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also selling stocks that seemed likely to tank.
This phenomenon was again on full display following President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” when the administration’s announcement of vast global tariffs sent international markets into a spiral.
CLC researched and analyzed all stock trades made by members of Congress during this time of high economic uncertainty. We found that, in just 55 days, 53 members made over 2,200 stock trades valued between $34.9 million and $140 million.
Although each individual transaction may not represent insider trading or a clear conflict of interest, it is abundantly clear that many lawmakers were focused on protecting their bottom lines. This then raises important questions about members’ overall priorities.
For information on each transaction, check out CLC’s research on members who traded stock between February 13 and April 9, 2025 — the time period between Trump’s first memo on tariffs and his announcement rolling them back.
In times of uncertainty, voters should not have to wonder whether elected officials are more focused on public interest or their own pocketbooks. A law banning congressional stock trading could have addressed such concerns in advance.
Whether or not lawmakers knew about the potential economic fallout of Trump’s tariff policy before it was public knowledge, this observed pattern is detrimental to public trust in our government.
The sheer number of trades made in this short period suggests that at least some lawmakers may be more focused on their personal financial interests than the public good.
At the end of the day, Americans deserve to know that their elected officials’ main priority is the public good. With your support, Campaign Legal Center will continue to advance solutions that hold lawmakers accountable to the American people.
