Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he supports a ban on stock trading by members of Congress amid controversy about well-timed trades during recent market volatility.
“You want me to tell you my honest opinion on that? I’m in favor of that, because I don’t think we should have any appearance of impropriety here,” he said at a Wednesday news conference. He added that members’ ability to trade had been “abused in the past, and I think sadly, a few bad actors discolor it for everyone.”
Johnson had previously avoided taking sides on the matter, which has divided members in both parties. His new stance lines up with top Democrats including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who backed a ban last month.
Previous efforts to ban lawmaker stock trading have fizzled out, but a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is making a new push to ban trades of individual stocks. Members are already bound by the 2012 STOCK Act, which bans trading on congressional insider knowledge and requires lawmakers to report their trades.
Democrats have wielded the issue as a political cudgel against the GOP after public disclosures revealed that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) purchased stocks during a tariff-induced dip in the market, only for those stocks to later rise in value.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
