House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed support Wednesday for legislation that would outlaw stock trading by members of Congress.
“You want me to tell you my honest opinion on it? I’m in favor of that, because I don’t think we should have any appearance of impropriety here,” Johnson told reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
“On balance, my view is we probably should [ban stock trading] because I think it’s been abused in the past,” the House speaker noted.
“And I think, sadly, a few bad actors, discolor it for everyone.”
Johnson had previously not taken a position on a potential congressional stock trading ban — a policy that has garnered support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as well as the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The debate over whether members of Congress should be barred from trading stocks has grown hotter in recent years amid reports of plugged-in lawmakers, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), making major market gains during volatile periods.
On average, the portfolios of Democratic and Republican congressional lawmakers beat the S&P 500 last year, according to stock-trading watchdog Unusual Whales.
“We see that the portfolio value for all trading Democrats ballooned by +31% and beat the market,” the group’s 2024 report on congressional trading stated. “Meanwhile the Republican portfolio, still making gains, also beat the market slightly with 26%.”
Under the 2012 STOCK Act, members of Congress are banned from trading on congressional insider knowledge and forced to disclose trades.
“We have no tolerance for anything even resembling insider trading or any of this kind of advantage that anybody could take — zero tolerance for it,” Johnson said, while noting the arguments against passing a more sweeping stock trading ban.
“The salary of Congress has been frozen since 2009,” he said. “You know, when you adjust for inflation, a member of Congress today is making 31% less than they made in [2009].”
“It goes down every year and over time, if you stay on this trajectory, you’re going to have less qualified people who are willing to make the extreme sacrifice to run for Congress.”
The House speaker indicated that he has “some sympathy” to the argument that lawmakers should be allowed to “engage in some stock trading so that they can continue to, you know, take care of their family.”
