Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Credit: @spectatorindex) Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) renewed his effort to bar members of Congress and their spouses from trading or owning individual stocks by reintroducing the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act on Monday. The bill is named after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), a frequent target of Republican criticism over congressional stock trading, and it reflects growing bipartisan momentum to curb potential conflicts of interest on Capitol Hill. The legislation would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from holding, buying, or selling individual stocks while in office, though it would allow investments in diversified mutual funds, ETFs, or US Treasury bonds.
Lawmakers currently holding stocks would have 180 days to divest, and newly elected officials would face the same window upon entering office. Those who violate the law could be fined up to 10% of each unlawful transaction and must forfeit profits to the US Treasury. “Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve—not day trading at the expense of their constituents,” said Hawley in a statement.
“Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public.” Hawley first introduced the PELOSI Act in 2023, but it stalled under President Joe Biden. Now, President Donald Trump has endorsed the measure, telling Time magazine last week, “I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it.” When asked if he would sign such a bill, Trump replied, “Absolutely.” While Pelosi and her husband have long denied wrongdoing, their high-volume trades, often in tech stocks, have drawn criticism and fueled accusations of insider advantage.
Pelosi’s defenders note that no laws have been broken and that disclosures are made in accordance with the STOCK Act. Pelosi isn’t the only lawmaker to face scrutiny over stock trading. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has also come under fire for profiting from market volatility linked to President Trump’s tariff policies.
Her trades raised questions about whether lawmakers are leveraging insider knowledge for personal financial gain. The renewed GOP push has sparked bipartisan interest. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) also voiced support last week for a congressional stock trading ban, signaling that reform could gain traction in both chambers this time around.
