After initially declining to take a position on the issue, on Dec. 17 President Joe Biden expressed support for a ban on Congressional stock trading.
“I think we should be changing the law … that nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” said Biden.
Biden did not trade any stocks during his 36-year Senate career, said then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in 2022.
The president initially declined to chime in on whether there should be a congressional stock trading ban.
Biden “believes that everyone should be held to the highest standard, but he'll let members of the leadership in Congress and members of Congress determine what the role should be,” said Psaki in 2022.
Numerous measures have been introduced in Congress with the aim of prohibiting its members from trading stocks.
A bipartisan bill was introduced in March 2023 to prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks. It would require members of Congress to divest certain assets no later than 180 days after the bill’s enactment. It would also mandate that members of Congress and their spouses divest certain other assets no later than five years after the bill becomes law.
The measure has not been brought to the floor for a House vote.
A separate stock trading ban bill advanced in the Senate earlier this year.
In July, a bipartisan group of 20 House members called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to bring up legislation to forbid lawmakers from trading stocks.
“Members of Congress should be working in service of their constituents, not using their positions to line their own pockets. Personal stock portfolios do nothing to help our districts, and even the appearance of insider trading undermines faith in elected officials’ priorities,” said Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) in a statement.
“Americans should rightfully expect Members of Congress to work relentlessly on their behalf to tackle the challenges facing our communities and country, rather than exploit their public position for personal gain,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) in a statement.
While there is currently no ban on members of Congress trading stocks, the Stock Act of 2012 prohibits them from using information derived from their positions in Congress or from performing their responsibilities as lawmakers to benefit personally.
