According to recent reports, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was caught selling nearly half a million dollars worth of Visa shares just months before the federal government sued the company. Over the years, Pelosi, along with other members of Congress, has drawn substantial speculation surrounding their trading activity, leading to concerns they are making personal financial decisions with non-public information they possess.
Financial disclosures indicate that Paul Pelosi dumped 2,000 shares of Visa on July 1 for at least $500,000. It is unclear how much the Pelosi’s profited from the transaction. However, the popular X account “Nancy Pelosi Stock Trader” flagged the trade earlier this week, coincidentally the same day the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing Visa of monopolizing the U.S. debit card market.
Recent reports indicate that Pelosi has accumulated a massive net worth approaching $250 million as pressures mount to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. According to Quiver Quantitative, which tracks lawmakers’ trading activity, Pelosi made nearly $9 million from the stock market during just the first half of May earlier this year. In 2023, Pelosi’s overall portfolio accumulated a 65% return compared to the S&P 500’s 23% return.
“How do they do it? The secret is an understanding of the intricate interconnectivity of global markets — I’m kidding. They have inside information,” late-night host and comedian Jon Steward quipped when joking about the extraordinary financial gains congress members attain from the stock market. “You might be wondering to yourself: How does Congress get away with all this? Well, it may be because Congress is regulated by, let me check my notes, Congress,” he added.
Moreover, there has been a move from some lawmaker to ban the trading of individual stocks in Congress. “Members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we make federal policy and have extraordinary access to confidential information,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said. “Stock trading by members of Congress massively erodes public confidence in Congress with serious appearance of impropriety, which is why we should ban stock trading by members of Congress altogether.”
The American Tribune recently reported on a move from congressional Republicans to ban stock trading in Congress, where Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill to ban the activity. Hawley maintained that members of Congress should be focused on serving the national interest instead of prioritizing self-enrichment. “The truth is, Congress should not be here to make a buck. Congress should be here to serve the American people. There is no reason why members of Congress ought to be profiting off of the information that only they get, that the rest of the American people don’t get,” he said.
“The only people you have to explain it to are here in this building. The only people who don’t seem to understand why stock trading should be banned are here in the capital. Every American gets it, and they’re right to get it. There is no reason why the personal profit of members of Congress should come first, it should come last. It shouldn’t be a consideration at all. And I’m proud to say, I think this bill takes a giant step forward to getting to that place,” he continued.
Watch Hawley below:
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