GOP Moves to Block Congressional Stock Trading Without a Single Democrat Vote

Republicans in the House just advanced a critical ethics bill without a single vote from across the aisle. The “Stop Insider Trading Act,” spearheaded by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), cleared the House Administration Committee entirely along party lines and is now headed to the House floor.

The bill, designed to rein in unethical financial behavior in Congress, would bar lawmakers from buying individual stocks and require a notice period of 7 to 14 days before any sale. It allows continued investment in mutual funds and index funds, and permits dividends to be reinvested a logical move that targets abuse without penalizing financial literacy or long-term planning.

But, as usual, Democrats want to go further and not in a good way.

During the committee markup, House Democrats took turns proposing extreme amendments:

• Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) pushed for mandatory divestment from all assets, not just by Congress but also the President and Vice President.

• Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) went even further, proposing forced divestment without any capital gains tax relief, essentially punishing anyone who had financial success before entering public service.

• Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) attempted to ban reinvestment of dividends, despite no link between such reinvestment and insider trading.

Every Democrat amendment was struck down.

Rep. Steil’s opposition to forced divestment wasn’t just about finances it was about preserving access to government for successful Americans. As he put it, “For some people, [capital gains tax] may be a very significant financial impact.” Translation: The Left wants to tax private success so aggressively, only career politicians or the independently wealthy can afford to run.

This is exactly the kind of elitism voters are tired of.

Chris Josephs, co-founder of the stock-tracking platform Autopilot, echoed that sentiment. He pointed out that a full-divestment law would drive away precisely the kind of candidates America needs: business leaders who understand strategy, leadership, and execution. “We should not just say no to those potential candidates just because they own businesses,” Josephs warned.

Just look at the contrast:

• On the Republican side, you’ve got Trump and JD Vance men with private sector achievements, real-world experience, and investment portfolios to show for it.

• On the Democrat ticket? Kamala Harris, a lifelong government bureaucrat, and Tim Walz a man who doesn’t even own a home and seems proud of it.

If the Democrats had their way, Trump and Vance would have to liquidate their holdings just to be allowed to run. That’s not ethics reform that’s ideological gatekeeping.

Steil made it clear that the purpose of this bill is to protect against insider trading, not punish elected officials for having earned success in the private sector.

“The focus here is to prevent members from being able to profit off of insider information not to make elected officials poor.”

Exactly. The American people want transparency and accountability not socialism masquerading as ethics reform. And the GOP is taking the first serious step to clean up Congress while keeping it open to real leaders, not just career politicians looking for a lifetime pension.

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