House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday that if Republicans win the majority in the November midterm elections, they’ll investigate how lawmakers and their immediate families trade stock options. But the California Republican refrained from committing to push legislation that would ban the practice.
McCarthy acknowledged that members using their inside knowledge of legislation to make advantageous stock trades is a matter that needs reform at a solo press conference Friday, the last legislative day in the House until September. Options trades by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband Paul Pelosi have garnered attention and criticism for their connections to bills under the House’s consideration.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS POUR COLD WATER ON PROPOSED STOCK TRADING BAN
“I would look all the way through it,” McCarthy said of calls to ban stock trading. “What I’ve told everybody is we will come back, and we will not only investigate this, we will come back with a proposal to change the current behavior.”
House Democrats are preparing to introduce legislation that would curtail trading for members, and McCarthy pointed out that Nancy Pelosi kept the issue off the House floor until nearly the end of the session.
“Her husband can trade all the way through, but now it becomes a crisis?” he asked, adding, “I think what her husband did was wrong.”
“I think we need to bring trust back to this institution,” McCarthy said. “I think we have to do a thorough investigation and look at what is the proper role for members of Congress and what influence they have. … Nancy Pelosi has proven that she can’t do that.”
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The Democratic-backed legislation would reportedly make members, spouses, and senior staff put all stock investments into blind funds or divest, according to Punchbowl News. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the move, including Pelosi herself. Others are reluctant to impose more ethics rules on members of the House or curtail their ability to make modest investments.
