Biden calls for ban on congressional stock trading
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden endorsed a ban on congressional stock trading in an interview that’s being released this week, belatedly weighing in on an issue that has been debated on Capitol Hill for years.
“Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” Biden said.
The interview was conducted by Faiz Shakir, a political adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders, and published by A More Perfect Union, a pro-labor advocacy and journalism organization. The Associated Press reviewed a video of the interview before its release.
The Democratic president spoke to Shakir about his economic legacy, which includes supporting unions, investing in clean energy projects and signing infrastructure. But Shakir also asked about congressional stock trading, which has been a catalyst for populist anger at Washington.
For example, when the coronavirus pandemic was approaching, some lawmakers bought and sold millions of dollars worth of stock after being briefed on the virus.
At that time, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., sold nearly all of her stock, directly before the public became aware of the coronavirus pandemic.
Actions taken by the wife of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, who represents Butler County, also came before the U.S. House Ethics Committee for a different reason.
Kelly’s wife, Victoria, purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 of stock in Cleveland-Cliffs, an Ohio-based steel manufacturer with a Butler County location, on April 29, 2020. At the time she purchased it, the stock was worth $4.70 a share. By the time she sold it, in January 2021, the stock was worth $18.11 per share.
The stock purchase and sale drew the attention of the U.S. House Ethics Committee, which launched an investigation into the matter in July 2021. As of January 2025, the status of the ethics investigation is unknown. Mike Kelly has not been mentioned in any ethics committee documents since January 2023.
In September 2020, before his wife sold her stock, Mike Kelly defended the purchase to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, stating that his wife was showing support for local industry.
“At a time when the entire Butler community is rallying to save the AK Steel plant and its 1,400 jobs, Rep. Kelly’s wife made a small investment to show her support for the workers and management of this 100-year old bedrock of their hometown, where they both are lifelong residents,” said a Kelly spokesperson at the time.
In March 2024, Victoria Kelly reportedly made a second purchase of Cleveland-Cliffs stock. While the exact amount is unknown, it was reported to be less than $100,000 worth.
A bipartisan proposal to ban trading by members of Congress and their families has dozens of sponsors, but it has not received a vote.
Although lawmakers are required to disclose stock transactions exceeding $1,000, they’re routinely late in filing notices and sometimes don’t file them at all.
Shakir said he admired Biden for having not “gone in early on Google, and Boeing, and Microsoft, and Nvidia, and, you know, Amazon” while he was a U.S. senator from Delaware, a position he held for 36 years.
Biden said he lived on his senator salary instead of playing the stock market.
“I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know, because the job they gave you, gave you an inside track to make more money,” he said. “I think we should be changing the law.”
Biden had previously declined to take a position on congressional stock trading. When Jen Psaki served as White House press secretary two years ago, she said Biden would “let members of leadership in Congress and members of Congress determine what the rules should be.”
It’s unclear what impact Biden’s statement could have, coming only a month before his term ends.
Eagle staff writer William Pitts contributed to this report.
