House Republicans Advance Stock Trading Ban to Protect Taxpayers
House Republicans are moving forward with plans for an early 2026 vote on legislation to prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks, responding directly to widespread public demand for ending potential insider advantages that burden American taxpayers.
What began as a bipartisan initiative is now diverging, as Democratic leaders insist on expanding the ban to include the president and vice president—despite existing executive branch rules—while Republicans focus on addressing conflicts within Congress itself.
A group of House Republicans met Thursday to outline a party-backed compromise that targets restrictions solely on lawmakers, aiming to finalize and bring the bill to a floor vote by March’s end.
“I think we’re going to deliver a really strong product in 2026,” said Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican.
Roy noted that the emerging bill will incorporate “a lot of elements” from his bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would ban members, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading stocks, securities, commodities, futures, or similar investments—requiring divestment within 180 days for current lawmakers and 90 days for new ones.
He emphasized that this will be a Republican-led effort designed to attract cross-aisle support while prioritizing accountability in the legislative branch.
GOP Prioritizes Cleaning Up Congress First
The Republican plan stands in contrast to Democratic proposals that seek to extend restrictions to the executive branch.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated he would not support a congressional-only ban, arguing: “There is absolutely no justification for the president, who has far more power than any individual member of Congress, or the vice president, to be able to trade stocks in real time when they have more access to inside information that perhaps the entire United States Congress combined as it relates to regulatory activity.”
However, Republicans counter that the executive branch already operates under stricter ethics rules.
“The executive branch has rules,” Mr. Roy said. “Right now, we’re trying to just focus on cleaning up our own mess, and then we can try to look elsewhere if we need to.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has championed the issue, affirmed that the GOP bill will effectively end insider trading concerns in Congress.
“No more insider trading,” Ms. Luna said, promising the bill that is being put together “is going to be good.”
“I think it would be stupid for any member of Congress to not vote for this,” she said. “It is the most bipartisan issue. Now, we have to make sure that the Senate does it too. But there’s also talk about potentially changing the House rules to get this effected immediately.”
Luna added that aligning congressional rules with the executive branch’s stronger standards would eliminate the problem: “If Congress had these same rules for stock trading as the executive branch, there wouldn’t be insider trading.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Roy, Luna, and other advocates like Reps. Tim Burchett and Nancy Mace, emerging with optimism about restoring public trust without overreaching.
Johnson has supported a ban to eliminate “any appearance of impropriety,” while acknowledging concerns over lawmakers’ frozen salaries since 2009, which have lost significant purchasing power to inflation—a direct hit to taxpayers funding those positions.
Broader Context and Presidential Support
President Trump has expressed willingness to sign a bill banning stock trading for members of Congress.
However, he criticized a separate Senate effort that included the presidency, viewing it as unnecessary targeting given existing safeguards.
The Senate has not advanced similar legislation amid Republican reservations.
With taxpayers footing the bill for government operations, the Republican focus on congressional accountability first resonates as a practical step toward transparency and fairness in Washington.
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