(NewsNation) — An Ohio congressman is making his latest push for a measure banning stock trading by members of Congress after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene drew attention for buying stocks just before markets rose on tariff news.
“Members of Congress should get out of the business of buying and selling stocks,” Rep. Greg Landsman told “The Hill” on Friday.
The Democrat is part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers sponsoring the “TRUST in Congress Act,” which would require lawmakers and their immediate family to divest from certain investments or move them into a blind trust during their time in Congress. The measure was first introduced in 2020.
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“I’m in the process of literally selling all of our stocks so that I can move our assets into a blind trust or a mutual fund,” Landsman said. “I don’t make any of the decisions now, but I don’t want the appearance.”
Greene, an ally of President Trump, reportedly bought several stocks as the markets tumbled from the Republican president’s on-again, off-again tariff policies. Right before he paused a set of global tariffs earlier this month, Trump posted on social media that it was a good time to buy. As markets rose, Democrats called for an investigation into whether his cronies benefited from inside information.
At the very least, a wide range of observers, including former Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney, a former Trump aide, say the very appearance of federal lawmakers playing the markets is unseemly and rattles public confidence in Congress.
The Hill recently looked at a sampling of lawmakers known to make significant market transactions. Two House Democrats, New Jersey’s Josh Gottheimer and Nancy Pelosi of California, have made trades worth tens of millions of dollars.
Currently, lawmakers are governed by the Stock Act of 2012, which obligates members of Congress to report trades worth more than $1,000 within 45 days.
