President Donald Trump expressed his openness on Wednesday to supporting a ban on government officials’ abilities to stock trade.
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley joined Democrats on Wednesday to advance his legislation, the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, which intends to ban members of Congress, the president and the vice president from buying, selling or owning individual stocks. Trump told Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese that he approves of the legislation “conceptually” and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be investigated over her stock trading practices.
“I like it conceptually. I don’t know about it, but I like it conceptually. And you know, Nancy Pelosi became rich by having inside information. She made a fortune with her husband, and I think that’s disgraceful,” Trump said. “So in that sense, I’d like it. But I study these things very carefully, and this just happened. So, I’ll take a look at it. But conceptually I like it and what I do think is that Nancy Pelosi should be investigated because she has the highest return of anybody, practically, in the history of Wall Street. Save a few and how did that happen? It happened by she knows exactly what’s gonna happen, she buys stock and then the stock goes up after the announcement is made. And she ought to be investigated.”
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Pelosi and her husband, Paul’s, stock trading has come under scrutiny as they have continuously outperformed stock return averages. The former House Speaker beat the S&P 500 by nearly 200% in 2024, and her portfolio grew 70% between Dec. 29, 2023, and Dec. 30, 2024.
Moments after Trump called on her to be investigated, Pelosi issued a statement in support of Hawley’s stock trading ban.
“While I appreciate the creativity of my Republican colleagues in drafting legislative acronyms, I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service,” Pelosi said. “The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the floor of the House.”
Pelosi has denied all accusations that she was involved in insider trading, and supported the 2023-2024 Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act after dropping her opposition to stock trading after the 2022 midterms.
Hawley, along with Democrats on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, advanced the PELOSI Act to the Senate floor in an 8-7 vote. The Missouri senator first introduced the legislation in January 2023.
“I practice what I preach,” Hawley said. “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.”
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