Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling for a ban on single-stock trading by members of Congress. The move could add momentum to growing bipartisan efforts to outlaw the practice.
While not the first Washington figure to back such a ban, Bessent’s remarks come as House and Senate GOP leaders face pressure to act on proposals that have gained traction in recent months.
“It is the credibility of the House and the Senate that you look at some of these eye-popping returns — whether it’s Rep. [Nancy] Pelosi, Sen. [Ron] Wyden, every hedge fund would be jealous of them,” Bessent said in a Bloomberg interview on Wednesday. “And the American people deserve better than this.”
Speaker Mike Johnson resisted Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) push for a floor vote on a ban in September. While the measure has bipartisan support, it has also drawn bipartisan opposition, with members voicing concerns during the August recess.
Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager said she “does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.” Wyden’s office pointed to a social media post in which the senator reiterated his support for a ban and accused Bessent of deflecting from the Treasury Department’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related bank records.
“Bessent is fuming that I blew the whistle on the fact that he’s hiding a huge Epstein file at the Treasury Department,” Wyden wrote. “Thousands of pages worth of Epstein’s bank records with names. Until he releases it, he’s just running interference for Epstein’s paedophile ring.”
The stock trading issue has become a political weapon for both parties. In April, House Democrats criticised Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for purchasing stocks shortly before President Donald Trump reversed part of his tariff policy.
That same month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the PELOSI Act, which would bar lawmakers and their spouses from trading individual stocks.
“People shouldn’t come to Washington to get rich, they should come to serve the American people,” Bessent said. “And it brings down trust in the system. Because I can tell you that if any private citizen traded this way, the SEC would be knocking on their door.”
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With inputs from agencies