General Discussion

GOP senators sparred with fellow Republican Josh Hawley on Wednesday over a Hawley-authored bill that would ban trading and ownership of stocks and certain other assets by lawmakers, the president and vice president and their spouses and dependent children. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the bill on a slim 8-7 vote after earlier adopting a Hawley substitute amendment that extended the prohibitions beyond just members of Congress, reaching into the Oval Office.

Yay!! Accountability . . . oh, wait . . . .

The compromise amendment would give officials elected before the date of enactment until after their current term to divest their assets. So President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance would need to sell their holdings in 2029 — exempting Trump from the requirements, since this is his last term — current House members would have until 2027, and so forth.

The original bill only applied to lawmakers and was co-sponsored by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. The bill was titled the “PELOSI Act,” a reference to past accusations by Republicans that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., benefited from inside information in stock trading.

EDIT

Hawley said the bill would ban the use of blind trusts to hold stocks because “rules on qualified blind trusts are not airtight.” He said the rules are “very loose and it’s very difficult to police.” “Blind trusts, I think, are often workarounds because they can be structured in multiple different ways,” he said.

EDIT

https://rollcall.com/2025/07/30/senate-panel-advances-bill-banning-congressional-stock-trading/