Former President Donald Trump has voiced his support for bi-partisan efforts to ban members of congress from trading on the stock market, saying it’s “not fair” to everyday Americans.
“It’s not right. It’s not appropriate,” Trump told Breitbart. “I think she’s clever in one way and stone cold crazy. She should not be allowed to do that with the stocks … It’s not fair to the rest of this country,” he said.
Last month Pelosi was asked to comment on a report from Business Insider that found 49 members of Congress and 182 Capitol staffers late in reporting their 2020/21 stock trades.
“Should members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?” one reporter asked.
“No…we have a responsibility to report on the stocks. I’m not familiar with that 5-month review but if people aren’t reporting, they should be,” Pelosi answered. “This is a free-market economy. [Members of Congress] should be able to participate in that.”
“She has inside information. It’s not right. It’s not appropriate. It shouldn’t be. She doesn’t want to discuss that. She wants to discuss other things,” Trump says.
Last week, The Drill Down reported on a bill being introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) that would ban insider trading by members of Congress.
“Hawley is introducing the ‘Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act’… BITC would, essentially, stop members of congress and their spouses (like Paul Pelosi) from holding, buying, or selling individual stocks,” The Drill Down reported.
“It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering,” Hawley says. “Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they’re supposed to be regulating. Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country.”
Add Donald Trump to the growing list of politicians on the left and right who say congressional lawmakers should not be allowed to trade individual stocks.
— via @billbostockUK of @BusinessInsider https://t.co/4dD7y0TjmS
— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) January 20, 2022