Capitol agenda: Insider trading is Mike Johnson's next Epstein
As POLITICO scooped Tuesday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is planning to file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on banning stock trading by members of Congress. Like the parallel push for a vote on releasing the Epstein files, it's poised to pit Johnson against rank-and-file Republicans who are thirsty to challenge elite corruption – whether their leadership likes it or not.
Luna's move puts Johnson in a bind.
Johnson has signaled that he's personally supportive of restricting stock trading by lawmakers. But allowing a vote to happen would trigger backlash from many fellow Republicans — and for what? The bill probably wouldn't go anywhere in the Senate.
Yet if Johnson stands in the way, he risks fueling a narrative triggered by the Epstein fight that he's protecting the rich and powerful and against transparency.
Luna has a ways to go before she gets the 218 signatures needed to force a vote. But she has some political momentum on her side. The House Ethics Committee said Friday that Rep. Mike Kelly's wife bought shares in steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs after Kelly's office learned that a Commerce Department action could benefit the company. Kelly has said he and his family 'look forward to putting this distraction behind us.'
Johnson's saving grace might be a GOP division over the right approach to executing a crackdown. Lawmakers have been meeting for months to try to hammer out a consensus bill, with some members concerned the process isn't going anywhere. Luna wants to force a vote just on a bill from Rep. Tim Burchett. Senate Homeland Security will mark up its own stock trading restrictions Wednesday.
Rep. Chip Roy, who could play a pivotal role in any effort to derail Luna's push as a member of the Rules Committee, is among those leading bipartisan talks on a potential compromise around a broader bill.
'Since I introduced the first bill on this subject, we've built a coalition in support of a comprehensive and strong solution to end stock trading for members of Congress,' Roy said. 'We're working over August to merge various ideas and get Republican leadership to move on it. We gave them time to finish the [megabill] — that time is passed.'
Rep. Seth Magaziner, the Rhode Island Democrat co-leading legislation with Roy, said he believes they are 'quite close' on a consensus bill coming together — possibly in August. But it would be for 'Congress only,' and not extend any stock trading ban to the president and vice president, as some Democrats are pushing.
Lawmakers involved in the talks are also aiming for legislative branch enforcement, which is missing from the Burchett bill that relies on Justice Department enforcement. Burchett's legislation also doesn't address when lawmakers who currently own stocks would have to pay taxes after divesting.
'Where you'll start losing Democrats is if the bill doesn't have teeth,' said Magaziner, who argues that the Burchett bill alone will have problems drawing enough support from both sides of the aisle.
What else we're watching:
— Schumer's Epstein announcement: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats plan to hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon on a new effort to get the 'full Epstein files.'
-- Trump nominee staredown: Senate GOP leaders are threatening to rewrite the chamber's rulebook if Democrats don't agree to expedite dozens of President Donald Trump's nominees before August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO that Republicans could revisit steps they took in 2018 to shorten debate time between nominees.
— Commerce votes on TSA bill: Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz said he's 'confident' his committee will approve legislation Wednesday that would put new guardrails on facial recognition technology used by the TSA. Travel lobbyists are raising concerns that the bill would make it more difficult to ensure airline passengers' safety.
Mia McCarthy, Jordain Carney, Calen Razor and Benjamin Guggenheim contributed to this report.
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