Possibly one of the worst public relations mistakes Pelosi ever made was when she snidely pushed back against a question about members of Congress trading in individual stocks. After an absolute explosion of bipartisan support for banning stock trading in Congress, Pelosi has supposedly dropped her opposition. Some say she is insisting on including a poison pill in the legislation-- banning the Supreme Court justices, which would likely be struck down by... the Supreme Court justices.
I don't know what happened to Jon Ossoff's weaker bill bill (with a phony-baloney "blind trust" exemption), but today Elizabeth Warren and Montana Republican Steve Daines introduced a strong bill to prohibit members of Congress from owning and trading individual stocks. A companion bill in the House has been introduced by Pramila Jayapal and far right sociopath Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
The bill covers members and their spouses-- like Pelosi's husband-- though not their children. It requires them to divest ownership of individual stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, and other securities including an interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, an option, or other complex investment vehicles. Diversified mutual funds, Treasury securities, government employee retirement plans and interests in small businesses are not part of the legislation.
Principlal sponsor, Elizabeth Warren told the media that "No one should ever have to wonder whether their Member of Congress is working for the public interest or their own financial interest. I’ve fought for years to root out corruption in Washington, and to ban federal officials from owning and trading individual stocks. With Senator Daines and this strong coalition, I’m proud to introduce the first bipartisan bill in the Senate on this critical issue, and now we have a real chance to get it done."
Daines added that "Congress is here to serve, not be served. The American people should have faith in that fact. Members shouldn’t be able to make legislative decisions or use their platform and influence to benefit themselves personally, which is why it should be no question that owning and trading stocks should be banned. I’m glad to work across the aisle with Senator Warren on a bipartisan compromise to help restore the American people’s faith in Congress and hold Members accountable to the folks they’re serving."
Pramila's take, widely supported by progressives is that "Members of Congress were elected to serve the people, not their personal financial interests. But as long as members and spouses are allowed to hold and trade stocks, we keep the door open to corruption-- and that cannot stand. I'm proud to join Senator Warren and our colleagues to introduce this legislation today and take this essential step to raising the ethical standards of Congress. It's good policy, and it's simply the right thing to do."
McCarthy has been saying he's in favor of the idea, but now that it looks like it may pass, he'll go to Trump and ask what to do. One Trump ally, crooked Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has come out against the ban. He's worried that rich assholes like himself will refuse to serve in Congress. Sounds like a bonus to me! And he can take Pelosi with him. McConnell has expressed his ideas but this week Schumer, the Senator from Wall Street, declared that he is on board.
It's crucial to watch Pelosi carefully because she is sure to do something that will crater the bill, a perfect capstone for a once honorably career she has flushed down the toilet in recent years. Polls, by the way, have shown that around three-quarters of Americans favor a ban on members owning stocks. That includes 70% of Democrats, 78% of Republicans and 80% of independents.
