Ocasio-Cortez Joins Republicans In Calling for Stock Ban
In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) stunned her colleagues Wednesday by standing alongside Republicans to demand a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.
The progressive congresswoman joined Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) at a Capitol Hill press event, where she acknowledged that the issue of financial corruption in politics has long united both sides of the aisle. Burchett greeted her with a fist bump before she addressed reporters.
“This issue has brought so many of us across the political spectrum together because we are united by the value that people should feel that their elected representative puts them and their interests first,” Ocasio-Cortez said. She argued that Congress should not have to “sell the American people on this,” but instead move quickly to pass meaningful reform.
Ocasio-Cortez praised the work of Rep. Roy, saying the legislation under discussion had “actually ended up with a product that is legitimately stronger than the sum of its parts.” She declared confidently: “We are going to get this done. It requires standing up against the powers that be.”
At the center of the debate is the PELOSI Act, legislation designed to bar lawmakers from personally trading stocks while in office. The bill’s name is no accident — it highlights the decades-long scrutiny of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband, Paul, whose net worth reportedly exceeds $245 million thanks largely to lucrative stock investments.
For years, critics have accused the Pelosis of engaging in a form of insider trading, pointing to the uncanny timing of their investments in industries impacted by congressional legislation. While Pelosi has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, the public perception that members of Congress can enrich themselves while writing the very rules that affect Wall Street has fueled bipartisan outrage.
Now, with support building from both conservative Republicans and left-wing Democrats, momentum may finally be shifting in favor of reform. As Ocasio-Cortez admitted, “when we put our disagreements aside … we can make our country better, we can make this institution better, and we can increase and earn the faith of the American people.”
For Americans tired of watching politicians profit while families struggle with inflation, the movement to ban congressional stock trading could become one of the few reforms in Washington to unite both sides — and hold the political elite accountable.