Krishnamoorthi and Cloud Lead Bipartisan Push to Ban Congressional Stock Trading and Prediction Market Trading
Lawmakers urge House leadership to adopt ethics reforms through House rules package to restore public trust and prevent conflicts of interest
WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Congressman Michael Cloud (R-TX) led a bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Monday in calling on Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to adopt new House rules prohibiting Members of Congress, their families, and congressional staff from trading individual stocks and participating in prediction markets. Additional signers of the letter included Representatives Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Tom Barrett (R-MI), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Elijah Crane (R-AZ), Dina Titus (D-NV), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Josh Riley (D-NY), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), Chip Roy (R-TX), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY).
In a letter to House leadership, the Members urged immediate action to strengthen congressional ethics rules and address growing public concerns about lawmakers using privileged information for personal financial gain. The lawmakers argued that Congress should move quickly to adopt clear and enforceable standards through the House rules process.
“We are writing to urge immediate changes to the rules package for the 119th Congress to include a clear, enforceable ban on Members, their families, and staff trading in individual stocks and in prediction markets,” the Members wrote. “If such changes are not adopted in the current Congress, we urge that these provisions be included in the rules package for the 120th Congress.”
The letter points to bipartisan efforts already underway to restrict congressional stock trading and notes that the Senate recently updated its own rules to prohibit Senators and Senate staff from participating in prediction markets. The lawmakers warned that the House should not fall behind in addressing clear ethical concerns and restoring public confidence in Congress.
“Members of Congress are privy to information the average hard-working American is not, so we should end both the appearance and reality of conflicts of interest and special privileges for elected officials,” the lawmakers continued. “The House of Representatives should not lag behind the Senate in closing obvious avenues for conflicts of interest and the appearance of corruption.”
The Members emphasized that the reforms are about protecting the integrity of Congress and ensuring Americans can trust that lawmakers are serving the public interest rather than their own financial portfolios.
“These reforms are not partisan; they are about restoring trust in Congress as an institution,” the lawmakers wrote. “Members from across the political spectrum have heard the same message from our constituents: they want clear rules that prevent lawmakers from personally profiting from nonpublic information or from the outcomes of the very processes we oversee.”
The letter is available here.