Republican voters and MAGA supporters took to social media platform X to voice their frustration against Democrats currently serving in the U.S. Senate after they all voted to block a piece of legislation sponsored by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) that would prohibit members of Congress from buying new stocks of publicly traded companies, stating that the legislation didn’t go far enough to stop corruption.
The Stop Insider Trading Act was shot down by a vote of 53-47. Not a single Democrat voted in favor of the bill. It needed to pull in a total of 60 votes to advance on the Senate floor. Ricketts, who is in the middle of a highly competitive race for his seat in Nebraska, stated before the vote that the legislation would “ban congressional insider trading” and referred to it as “commonsense” reform that “we need to pass.”
The bill flew through the House back in July by a vote of 232-198 and even had support from 13 Democrats. “Congress’s approval rating is only 15 percent. Why do Americans have such a lack of faith in our institutions? Well, in part, because of what has happened with trading in the Congress,” Ricketts stated on the Senate floor before the vote was taken.
Ironically, Ricketts’ opponent on the campaign trail, independent Dan Osborn, has accused the incumbent senator of making a handsome profit off his stock portfolio while serving in the Senate. Osborn ripped into Ricketts for making an estimated $10 million in market gains in April 2025, after stocks finally bounced back following President Trump’s decision to ease up on “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slammed Rickett’s proposal as a “feeble” attempt at reform that would still enable lawmakers to engage in making profitable stock market transactions. “Only Senate Republicans would dare call a bill that permits members of Congress to continue to own, sell and in some instances buy stocks a stock-trading ban,” Schumer said.
They can’t be serious. The Republican bill is a permission slip for corruption, not a stock-trading ban,” Schumer proclaimed on the Senate floor. Had the bill been passed and signed into law, it would have prohibited lawmakers from buying new stocks in publicly traded companies and would have required them to provide advance notice of plans to sell stocks.
However, the bill also would have allowed lawmakers to keep stocks they already own and would also allow them to purchase private stocks. Folks on X were none too happy to see the bill be blocked by Senate Democrats. “WE ARE RULED BY CRIMINALS!!! PRIMARY THEM ALL AND REPEAL THE 17TH AMENDMENT. IT WAS A MISTAKE,” one user wrote.
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“No conservative or moderate voters can stay home in November. Show them who really controls America. Overwhelm the polling stations. Demand accountability,” another user commented. “Could have gotten there if @LeaderJohnThune would nuke the unconstitutional filibuster. But he’s a compromised, bought and paid for, RINO piece of s–t, so that will never happen. He needs primaried and he will be in ’28. He can never lead the Senate again after this session is over. Absolutely the worst Senate of all time,” a user said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video