- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna filed a discharge petition forcing a House floor vote to ban members' individual stock trading, accelerating bipartisan momentum.
- The Restore Trust in Congress Act would bar lawmakers and their families from trading stocks amid rising public outrage and ethical scrutiny.
Washington, D.C. – In a rare moment of unity on Capitol Hill, a push to slam the door on lawmakers’ stock trading is picking up steam, with Republicans at the forefront.
The effort, which has long simmered amid public outrage over potential insider deals, took a decisive turn this week when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna filed a discharge petition to drag the issue to the House floor—bypassing the usual backroom haggling.
It’s the kind of move that could finally deliver on years of bipartisan hand-wringing.
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Or not. But either way, it’s got the attention of everyone from ethics watchdogs to former members of Congress, all urging leaders to act before the window closes.
The Spark: Luna’s Bold Petition
Luna, a firebrand Republican from Florida, didn’t mince words when she dropped the petition on Tuesday.
“Political games have already started to play out behind the scenes. I’m not waiting any longer,” she declared in a statement.
“A discharge petition is the strongest tool we have to guarantee a vote on behalf of the American people and it exists for moments exactly like this.”
For the uninitiated, a discharge petition is Congress’s version of a procedural jailbreak.
It lets members sidestep committee gridlock and force a floor vote if it racks up 218 signatures—essentially a majority of the House. Luna’s already got some heavy hitters on board, and the clock is ticking.
This isn’t her first rodeo on the issue. Back in the spring, Luna had rattled her saber, threatening to pull the trigger unless House Speaker Mike Johnson moved by September’s end.
But then came the government shutdown drama, and the whole thing hit pause.
Johnson kept the chamber dark, and the momentum stalled.
No more waiting, Luna signaled in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter).
“We have decided, because of a lack of movement from the House of Representatives, to initiate the discharge petition on banning insider trading, meaning it is live now,” she said.
“Now, if leadership wants to put forward a bill that would actually do that and end the corruption, we’re all for it.”
The Bill at the Heart of It All
At stake is the Restore Trust in Congress Act, a straightforward piece of legislation that would bar members of Congress—and their spouses and dependent children—from buying or selling individual stocks.
No more day-trading portfolios while crafting policies that could swing markets.
Disclosures would still be required, but the trading? Off-limits.
The bill’s already a magnet for support, boasting over 100 cosponsors from both parties as of Wednesday.
That’s no small feat in a polarized House. Lead sponsors Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) wasted no time cheering Luna’s move.
In a joint statement, they warned: “The clock is now running. If leadership does not move quickly to put forward a strong ban on congressional stock trading, the members of the body will act.”
They’re not alone. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Luna’s partner in this crusade, signed on immediately and fired off a blunt post on X: “End congressional stock trading.”
In a video captured alongside Luna, he didn’t hold back: “This place is broken and it is a complete open sewer, let’s at least tell America we’re trying to do something right.”
Other Republicans are jumping in too. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) announced she’d sign the petition, as did Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Eli Crane (R-Ariz.).
It’s a who’s-who of the party’s reform-minded flank, signaling this isn’t just talk.
Why Now? The Backdrop of Public Frustration
Let’s rewind a bit. Lawmakers have been allowed to trade stocks since… well, forever, as long as they report it within 30 days under the 2012 STOCK Act—short for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge.
On paper, it’s meant to curb insider trading. In practice? Not so much.
Scandals keep bubbling up. Remember the Pelosi portfolio’s eyebrow-raising returns?
Or the parade of members outperforming Wall Street pros year after year?
Polls show the public isn’t buying the “it’s all above board” line—surveys consistently reveal overwhelming bipartisan backing for a full ban, with support hovering around 70-80% across the spectrum.
The ethics angle is hard to ignore.
“Across the country, from every political background, the American people agree on one thing: Members of Congress should not be enriching themselves with insider knowledge,” Luna emphasized in her Tuesday statement.
She took a swipe at the top: “Both Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have acknowledged that insider trading in Congress is a serious problem and must be stopped.
On this issue, the people are more united than Washington is.”
Experts echo that sentiment. Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, told Newsweek:
“Thanks to bipartisan momentum, lawmakers are poised to address the perennial issue of congressional stock trading and deliver a solution that Americans across the political spectrum have supported for years.
Americans deserve elected officials who put public good over their personal financial interests.
When those who craft our laws and receive information unavailable to the general public are able to buy and trade stocks that are influenced by those laws and that information, that is the very definition of a conflict of interest.”
Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, struck a cautious note in his interview with Newsweek.
“This isn’t a Democrat problem or Republican problem,” he said. “I hope it passes, but I’ll believe it when I see it, because we’ve been trying now for the past five or six years.”
Even the alumni club is weighing in. On Tuesday, more than 90 former lawmakers—spanning both parties—penned a letter to Johnson and Jeffries, imploring them to tee up the bill for a vote.
It’s a chorus that’s getting harder to ignore.
Hurdles Ahead: Quiet Pushback in the Shadows
Of course, nothing’s a slam dunk in D.C. Rep. Magaziner let slip to CBS News that resistance is real:
“There are members in both parties who do not want this to happen, who are in the ear of leadership, who are trying to stop this from happening.”
If the petition hits 218 signatures, the bill heads to the floor in weeks.
But whispers suggest some lawmakers—on both sides—see their trading as a perk worth protecting.
Will the grassroots pressure from voters tip the scales?
Or will it fizzle like so many reforms before?
This discharge drive isn’t just about stocks; it’s a litmus test for whether Congress can police itself.
With the petition live and signatures pouring in, the next few weeks could mark a turning point—or another missed opportunity.
As Luna put it, it’s time to “end the corruption.”
For now, all eyes are on the House. If history’s any guide, the real drama is just getting started.
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