Well, color me shocked—Congress might finally be forced to stop playing the stock market like it’s their own private casino. Sen. Josh Hawley, never one to tiptoe around the hypocrisy of Washington, just reintroduced the PELOSI Act.
Yes, you read that right. PELOSI. As in “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments.” As in, yes, it’s named after that Pelosi—former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose husband somehow has a knack for placing multimillion-dollar bets on the market right before legislative decisions magically boost those investments. Total coincidence, I’m sure.
This latest round of legislative common sense—rare in D.C.—would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading or owning individual stocks while in office. Shocking, right? That the people tasked with writing the laws that govern markets maybe shouldn’t be allowed to personally profit from insider information.
I mean, imagine being a normal citizen and getting tossed in jail for insider trading, while some senator casually cashes in thanks to classified committee briefings. The dual system of justice and privilege is so baked into Capitol Hill that it’s practically a feature, not a bug.
Hawley summed it up pretty well: “Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve — not day trading at the expense of their constituents.” Seems pretty straightforward, yet somehow it’s controversial. Why? Because this gravy train has been rolling for decades, and no one likes someone showing up to shut off the buffet line.
But here’s the kicker—President Trump is all in. When asked whether he’d support this kind of reform, he didn’t waffle. He didn’t meander. He didn’t mutter something about “studying the issue.” Nope. He said he’d “absolutely” sign it. “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,” Trump said, channeling the frustration of millions of Americans who’ve watched their retirement savings crawl while career politicians’ portfolios magically explode in value.
And it’s not just about Pelosi. Let’s not forget the 2022 New York Times exposé that outed nearly a hundred members of Congress who made suspicious trades that just happened to align with their committee work. So either our elected officials are financial wizards with impeccable timing, or they’re skimming information off the top and cashing in while their voters scrape by on grocery coupons and rising gas prices.
What’s almost laughable is that this issue has bipartisan support. Over 80% of Americans—Republican, Democrat, Independent, you name it—support banning congressional stock trading. But somehow, year after year, every proposed bill dies in committee, lost in the bureaucratic Bermuda Triangle. Why? Because the foxes are guarding the henhouse, and those hens lay golden eggs.
It is time! Pass my PELOSI Act now – no stock trading by members of Congress https://t.co/w1enBmv0BG
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) April 25, 2025
The PELOSI Act—despite the name and delicious irony—isn’t just about settling scores. It’s about finally restoring a shred of integrity to an institution that long ago sold its soul to K Street consultants and insider profit games. It allows lawmakers to invest in mutual funds, ETFs, Treasury bonds—just like regular folks saving for retirement. What it doesn’t allow is “Oh hey, I sit on the Energy Committee and just bought a ton of solar stock two days before the government mandates solar panels.” That sort of thing.
The bill to ban congressional stock trading is entitled the PELOSI Act, or “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments.”
I usually don’t like cute names for pieces of legislation, but this one hit the nail on the head. Bravo.
Pass it!! pic.twitter.com/pN8nicKJRx
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 29, 2025
There’s even a six-month grace period for lawmakers to divest, and teeth in the form of fines and profit seizures if they refuse. Plus, audits by the GAO to make sure the foxes actually leave the henhouse.
So now the ball is in Congress’ court. Will they do the right thing and pass a bill that Americans actually want? Or will they let it die like all the others, hoping we won’t notice them getting rich while the rest of us are stuck paying for their inflation?
Don’t hold your breath—but maybe, just maybe, the spotlight is finally too bright for them to keep hiding.
