Washington — Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri joined Democrats Wednesday to advance legislation that would ban members of Congress from buying, selling or owning individual stocks.
In an 8-7 vote, Hawley and Senate Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted the legislation out of committee, with all other Republicans on the committee voting against it. It’s not yet clear if the legislation, which Hawley introduced, will receive a floor vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“I practice what I preach,” Hawley said in an awkward exchange with fellow Republicans on the panel. “I don’t have individual stocks, I don’t trade in stocks. I’m not a billionaire, unlike others on this committee. And what I think is, the American people are sending us a clear message.”
Republican Sen. Rick Scott, who was not born wealthy but is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to his public filings, said he agrees lawmakers shouldn’t be trading stocks. But he defended the ability for members of Congress to be rich, and called attacks on the wealthy “disgusting.”
“He made a reference to billionaires, okay?” Scott said of Hawley. “I don’t know when in this country it became a negative to make money. But somehow, if you’ve made money, you’re supposedly — I think Senator Hawley suggests — you shouldn’t be serving, because you might trade stocks.”
“Anybody want to be poor? I don’t.” Scott continued. “Right? So this idea that we’re going to attack people because they make money is wrong. Is absolutely wrong. We should cherish all of our different backgrounds. … So, I think it’s disgusting what is going on here.”
Some Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee insisted that blind trusts are sufficiently restrictive. But Hawley said blind trusts are “often workarounds,” and members can still influence decisions.
The legislation is called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments, or the PELOSI Act, alluding to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose financial disclosures have included large quantities of stock purchased by her husband, Paul Pelosi. The measure would prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from trading or holding individual stocks, giving them 180 days to sell their stocks. Members would also have to supply their House or Senate ethics committee with written certification of compliance each year, and the Government Accountability Office would conduct a compliance audit every two years.
Hawley also said the legislation would ban the next president and vice president from holding or trading individual stocks while in office, meaning the legislation wouldn’t affect President Trump. A reporter asked the president if he supports Hawley’s bill.
“Well, I like it conceptually,” Mr. Trump said. “I don’t know about it. But I like it conceptually.”
Hawley introduced similar legislation in 2023, but it didn’t make it out of committee.
The proposed measure is more restrictive than the STOCK Act, which requires lawmakers and senior government officials including the president and vice president to disclose their stock trades and bans them from trading on information they learn in the course of their public service.
Hawley wrote on X after the committee vote that the legislation should come to the Senate floor “NOW.”