Trump does U-turn on insider trading ban
Hours after granting conditional praise for a bill to ban members of Congress, the president, and vice president from trading stocks while in office, President Donald Trump unleashed a vicious broadside against the Senate's sponsor of legislation that does just that.
'I wonder why [Josh] Hawley would pass a bill that Nancy Pelosi is in absolute love with — He is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats,' Trump ripped on Truth Social, referring to Missouri's senior Republican senator. 'It's a great bill for her, and her "husband," but so bad for our country!'
It amounted to a head-snapping U-turn from the president's earlier tacit praise for the new version of Hawley's bill that cleared a key Senate committee on Wednesday. Trump had told a reporter he supported the concept of the legislation, an early signal he was hesitant to fully publicly embrace it following a Punchbowl News report that the White House was lobbying intensely against passage because it could impact the finances of the executive.
Senators voted to advance Hawley's bill, with all Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee joining the lone rebel Republican. Hawley's Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act — named after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has reported a prolific amount of trading disclosures during her time in office — would ban lawmakers from trading or holding stocks. As a part of a deal to gain Democratic support, Hawley agreed to change the measure's name from the PELOSI Act to the HONEST Act.
The measure, which passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, now includes presidents and vice presidents from stock trading as well. Hawley celebrated the win speaking with the Daily Mail Wednesday afternoon — touting how President Donald Trump floated support for the legislation earlier in the day.
'We've worked on this for years, and it's really simple. It bans members of Congress from trading stock. It's not that hard,' he said before Trump unloaded on him online. 'And guess what? Members of Congress hate it because they want to trade stock. They make a lot of money doing it — both parties, sadly,' Hawley continued. Apparently, Trump now hates it too. 'I don't think real Republicans want to see their president, who has had unprecedented success, targeted, because of the "whims" of a second-tier Senator named Josh Hawley!,' Trump charged.
Behind the scenes, there is a push from the White House to kill Hawley's bill so that those in the executive branch don't have to fork over additional disclosures. 'This was a last-minute deal struck to include the Executive Branch equities without touching base with the White House to discuss potential Article II concerns,' a White House official said in a statement of Hawley's measure before it passed. 'Any pause comes purely from potential Article II infringement, not the Congressional ban,' the official added.
For the sitting president and vice president, Hawley's trading ban kicks in only for future administrations, following Trump's term. Republicans in Congress have also voiced their disapproval of Hawley's bill. Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson noted during the vote that the bill, if passed, would deter potential lawmakers from running due to the economic disincentive. 'We make it very unattractive for people to run for office,' he said. Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said the measure targets the rich. 'Anybody want to be poor? I don't. This idea that we're gonna attack people because they make money is wrong,' Scott said during the committee meeting. 'It's disgusting what is going on here. This is an attack against the president, and an attack against the vice president,' he added.
Scott, it should be noted, is estimated to have a net worth over $550 million, much of it held in stocks, according to data compiled by congressional money tracker Quiver Quantitative. Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno called the bill 'a publicity show', and voted against it in committee despite being Hawley's only co-sponsor. Hawley told the Daily Mail that Moreno's vote came as a 'surprise' to him. The Republicans' change in tune is stark considering how banning stock trading for members has been a popular policy among the party in the past. Earlier this year, for example, Republicans flocked to support a similar ban in the House — called the TRUST in Congress Act — that would ban members and their families from trading stocks.
That bill, which has bipartisan support, was co-signed by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy and over a dozen other GOP members. Notably, it does not ban the president or vice president from trading or owning stocks, like Hawley's legislation does. Democrats, meanwhile, praised the Republican senator's bill. 'I strongly support the measure,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told the Daily Mail. 'I think Senator Hawley has done an excellent job in explaining why this bipartisan effort ought to pass.' 'It's only one step toward, maybe, the credibility of the Congress, and the fact that it's bipartisan makes it very compelling.' Pelosi has decided that after decades of engaging in the trading of stocks while in public office, she now supports banning the practice. 'If legislation is advanced to help restore trust in government and ensure that those in power are held to the highest ethical standards, then I am proud to support it — no matter what they decide to name it,' Pelosi said in a statement issued by her office Wednesday.
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