Voters have a right to know that their elected representatives are acting in the public’s best interest and are not motivated by their personal financial interests.
However, the lack of constraints on congressional stock trading means there is little to prevent lawmakers from accruing personal wealth through strategic trading, possibly at the expense of prioritizing the needs of everyday Americans.
Now, lawmakers have the opportunity to remove this threat to accountability and public trust for good. CLC calls on Congress to pass the bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act (H.R. 5106) and finally ban stock trading by sitting members and their families.
Trading During the Government Shutdown Illuminates the Need for Action
As long as sitting elected officials are allowed to trade stocks, at least some will be incentivized to prioritize their own pocketbooks over policymaking.
To prevent corruption and conflicts of interest, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has long called on Congress to ban stock trading by sitting lawmakers, because these individuals often have access to inside information before the broader public and they create the very laws that shape the economy.
In the absence of these stronger rules, we’ve seen congressional stock trading proliferate. This has led to repeated examples of ethical violations and questionable financial activity, including during the tariff announcements in 2025 and global health emergencies in 2020.
The 2025 government shutdown underscores this problem; while their constituents navigated the longest lapse of federal funding in history and shouldered consequences like missed paychecks and drained SNAP benefits, lawmakers engaged in nearly 200 trades, representing anywhere from $3 to $9 million in financial assets.
This flurry of activity during a time of economic crises, albeit legal, sends a dangerous message to the public — our elected officials are working to secure their financial interests first, and advance the public good second. A lack of public trust in our institutions is toxic to democracy.
Rather than wait for another wave of questionable trading during the next economic crisis to further deteriorate public trust in our institutions, lawmakers must come together and pass legislation that updates the STOCK Act with a comprehensive solution to this pervasive problem.
The Restore Trust in Congress Act is the answer to this problem. Introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) and 14 co-sponsors from across the aisle, the bill fully bans stock trading by lawmakers, their spouses and dependents, a crucial reform to rebuild public confidence in the federal government.
Where the STOCK Act aimed to provide transparency, the Restore Trust in Congress Act can provide the accountability that Americans are seeking from their lawmakers. Unlike the STOCK Act, this latest legislation has enforcement mechanisms that will levy hefty fines against members of Congress caught trading stocks
The Link Between Economic Uncertainty and Trades
The government shutdown is just the latest example of a correlation between economic uncertainty and our lawmakers getting richer. In 2020, CLC discovered that U.S. Senators and Representatives bought stocks in companies that were expected to see a boost during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also selling stocks that seemed likely to tank.
This phenomenon was again on full display following President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” when the administration’s announcement of vast global tariffs sent international markets into a spiral.
CLC researched and analyzed all stock trades made by members of Congress during this time of high economic uncertainty. We found that, in just 55 days, 53 members made over 2,200 stock trades valued between $34.9 million and $140 million.
Although each individual transaction may not represent insider trading or a clear conflict of interest, it is abundantly clear that many lawmakers were focused on protecting their bottom lines. This then raises important questions about members’ overall priorities.
CLC has conducted detailed research on members who traded stock between February 13 and April 9, 2025 — the time period between Trump’s first memo on tariffs and his announcement rolling them back.
In times of uncertainty, voters should not have to wonder whether elected officials are more focused on public interest or their own pocketbooks. A law banning congressional stock trading could have addressed such concerns in advance. If passed, the Restore Trust in Congress Act can serve that purpose.
Whether or not lawmakers knew about the potential economic fallout of Trump’s tariff policy before it was public knowledge, this observed pattern is detrimental to public trust in our government.
The sheer number of trades made in this short period suggests that at least some lawmakers may be more focused on their personal financial interests than the public good.
At the end of the day, Americans deserve to know that their elected officials’ main priority is the public good. With your support, Campaign Legal Center will continue to advance solutions that hold lawmakers accountable to the American people.
For more information on the history of congressional stock trading and the efforts to regulate it, read our explainer.
