Congress Sets to Ban Itself From Printing Tendies With the “Restore Trust Act”...

In Washington, three things are certain: death, taxes, and that a lawmaker's spouse is a better stock picker than Warren Buffett…

Well, it finally happened. A bipartisan cesspool of lawmakers running from Chip Roy to AOC just rolled out a bill that would ban members of Congress (and their families, sup Paul Pelosi) from trading individual stocks. The new branding is simply the Restore Trust In Congress Act. Which kind fits considering this crew has been front-running retail for decades. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, the bill is basically a Frankenstein of all the failed attempts before it: the PELOSI Act, Josh Hawley’s “do something” proposals, and the random discharge petitions floating around the House. This version would ban individual stock trading, force lawmakers to divest or stick their portfolios in blind trusts, and extend the prohibition to spouses and dependents. Translation: if it passes, no more $2 million options lottos the night before a defense contract gets announced.

(Source: The Hill) 

As for me and my opinion? It’s about d*mn time. Watchdogs and data scrapers have been torching members for years over their conveniently timed trades and eye-watering returns. The optics got so bad that even Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have said they’d support a ban… which tells you where the Overton window is. Everyone knows this plays well with voters.

But, but, but… like the usual work in da “Swamp”... there’s a catch. Congress loves looking tough on itself until it actually has to vote. The Senate already moved a bill through committee in July (with Hawley as the lone GOP “yes”), but it exempts current terms… meaning Trump wouldn’t be bound until 2029. In the House, Anna Paulina Luna has been threatening to force the issue with a discharge petition, but she’s giving leadership until the end of September before lighting that match.

(Source: Giphy) 

For now though, the new House bill is stagecraft with teeth. Members are tripping over themselves to say “the time is now” and that Congress needs to restore trust. But the reality? Most of these folks have no problem banning their own trades now that the easy money’s gone and watchdog accounts are watching every 13D like hawks.

Still, if this thing actually clears both chambers, it’s historic. A real end to one of the dirtiest open secrets on the Hill: the fact that the best-performing hedge fund in America wasn’t Citadel or Point72… it was friggin’ Congress. Until then, assume every press conference about “restoring trust” is a buy signal for another spouse’s brokerage account. Until next time, friends… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.