Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged colleagues to immediately disclose recent stock purchases following dramatic market surges triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariff reduction announcement.
“Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote late Wednesday in a social media post, referring to market volatility caused by Trump’s tariff policies.
The New York Democrat pointed to the May 15 disclosure deadline but argued that immediate transparency was needed, bluntly stating: “It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”
The Nasdaq stock volume rose sharply before Trump announced he would pause some of his sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners for 90 days. Hours before this policy shift, Trump had posted on Truth Social that it was “A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Ocasio-Cortez, who co-sponsored the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act in 2023 that would prohibit lawmakers from trading individual stocks, has consistently criticized congressional stock trading practices.
“The insider trading that happens in Congress — it explodes the cynicism that fuels the right,” she said during a February appearance on “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart.” She added that Republicans “make no bones about what class they are here to serve.”
Current rules under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act require members of Congress to disclose their stock trades within 45 days, but critics argue this timeline allows for potential conflicts of interest.
Senators Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego formally requested an investigation in an April 10 letter addressed to White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles and U.S. Office of Government Ethics Acting Director Jamieson Greer.
“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,” the senators wrote.
The White House has denied allegations of market manipulation, with a spokesperson downplaying Democratic concerns as “partisan games” rather than legitimate oversight issues.
Meanwhile, Trump:
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