BURSTRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) suggested that her colleagues on Capitol Hill “should probably disclose” their recent stock purchases now in light of the volatility of the markets caused by President Trump’s tariff tit-for-tat.
“Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now. I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote late Wednesday in a post on social platform X.
“Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things," she added. "It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”
The NASDAQ call volume rose shortly before Trump announced that he would pause the sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners for 90 days. After the temporary walk back of the import taxes, which notably excludes China, the S&P 500 index rose by 9.5 percent.
Amid the stock market twists and turns, Congressional Democrats have requested an inquiry into whether Trump, his family or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading.
Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, seeking information on whether White House or administration employees violated federal ethics laws.
“We write to request an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions, informed by advanced knowledge of non-public information regarding his changes to tariff policy, yesterday or at any time during this administration,” the lawmakers said.
They also highlighted Trump’s Truth Social post from Wednesday morning that reads, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” Less than four hours later, he issued the 3-month reprieve on the hefty tariffs.
“This sequence of events raises grave legal and ethics concerns,” the senators wrote Thursday in the five-page letter.
Ocasio-Cortez has also consistently railed against members of Congress trading stocks.
“I think sometimes what my colleagues and other people in the party don't understand, is that the insider trading that happens in Congress — it explodes the cynicism that fuels the right. It doesn't benefit us. It benefits Republicans because they make no bones about what class they are here to serve,” the New York progressive Democrat said during her February appearance on “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart.”
“In fact, Republicans are far more honest in this respect sometimes, which is that they're here to serve the billionaire class, and they make decisions very publicly to serve that billionaire class,” she told the host.
Lawmakers can trade stocks legally, but there are disclosure laws they are expected to follow to combat conflicts of interest. The “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act,” signed in 2012, requires members of Congress to disclose their stock trades within 45 days.
Ocasio-Cortez was also a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation introduced in 2023 that would bar members from trading and owning individual stocks.