Bipartisan consensus on congressional stock trading ban collapses as rival bills advance

Published Jul 21, 10:22 AM UTC

A bipartisan working group of U.S. House members, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Seth Magaziner, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Tim Burchett, expressed frustration as a GOP-backed bill on congressional stock trading heads to the floor. The group had spent months crafting a consensus bill that would ban stock ownership by lawmakers entirely, including mandatory divestment. However, Republican leadership advanced a weaker bill (the Stop Insider Trading Act) that only prohibits new stock purchases by members, spouses, and dependent children, without requiring divestment of existing holdings. The bill was further complicated by the addition of unrelated voter ID language (the SAVE Act), a priority for President Trump. A discharge petition filed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to force a vote on the consensus bill has only 84 of the required 218 signatures. Democrats have also introduced their own proposal extending the ban to the president and vice president, creating further partisan divisions.