White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not hold back on Thursday as she took direct aim at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, blasting the California Democrat over her stock market windfalls and calling her the very reason legislation banning congressional stock trading is under serious consideration.

In a fiery press briefing, Leavitt read aloud a damning list of stock trades made by Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi—trades that not only raised eyebrows but reportedly outperformed every hedge fund on Wall Street and even Warren Buffett himself.

“The president has spoken to Senator Hawley, who called him, and the president took that call,” Leavitt said. “As the president said in the Roosevelt Room yesterday, conceptually, he of course supports the idea of ensuring that members of Congress and United States senators who are here for public service cannot enrich themselves.”

Then Leavitt dropped the hammer:

“And the reason that this idea—to put a ban on stock trading for members of Congress—is even a thing is because of Nancy Pelosi,” she said. “I mean, she is rightfully criticized because she makes, I think, $174,000 a year, yet she has a net worth of approximately $413 million.”

According to Leavitt, in 2024 alone, Pelosi’s stock portfolio exploded by 70%—far exceeding the returns of Wall Street titans.

“Her portfolio outperformed every single large hedge fund in that same year, and even more than doubled the returns of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway,” she said.

Leavitt made clear that President Donald J. Trump stands firmly with everyday Americans who are outraged at how career politicians use their insider status to quietly line their pockets.

“So I think the president stands with the American people on this. He doesn’t want to see people like Nancy Pelosi enriching themselves off of public service and ripping off their constituents in the process.”

While the legislative mechanics are still being negotiated, Leavitt said the White House is in ongoing talks with allies on Capitol Hill.

The firestorm comes as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)—a leading voice for reform—found himself unexpectedly blasted by President Trump on Truth Social. Trump slammed Hawley as a “second-tier Senator” after Hawley joined Democrats in opposing an amendment to exempt the president from the congressional trading ban.

Hawley later claimed it was a misunderstanding, telling Fox News that the language of the bill, titled the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, does not apply to President Trump or Vice President J.D. Vance. Instead, it would bar future presidents from personally trading stocks while in office.

Despite the mix-up, Hawley emphasized that the bill continues to draw broad support, including from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a majority of House Republicans, and even a few Democrats. According to Hawley, Speaker Johnson personally told him that President Trump supports the original version of the PELOSI Act.

“Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve—not day trading at the expense of their constituents,” Hawley said when introducing the bill. “Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public.”

The bill would ban members of Congress and their spouses from buying, selling, or holding individual stocks while in office. Lawmakers would still be allowed to invest in diversified mutual funds, ETFs, or U.S. Treasury bonds—vehicles that don’t benefit from inside political knowledge.

In a move sure to inflame public anger further, an attempt by Republicans to include a provision requiring a detailed report on Pelosi’s stock trades was voted down—thanks to opposition from Senate Democrats and Senator Hawley.

Pelosi’s fortune has long been a lightning rod for criticism from the right, as she and her husband continue to beat the market year after year while average Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas.