Congressman Takes on President’s Stock Trading History with New Bill: ‘Sell Your Stocks or Step Down’

Get Market Alerts

Weekly insights + SMS alerts

There's a new twist in the ongoing saga of whether politicians should be allowed to play the stock market. A congressman has introduced a bill that doesn't just go after members of Congress, but also takes aim at the president himself. Here's the lowdown.

Congressman Takes on Congressional (and Other Officials) Trading

For years, there have been calls to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, yet it remains perfectly legal, as long as they report their transactions within 45 days. The president of the United States is also free to buy and sell stocks, a fact that has become very public recently with Donald Trump's tens of thousands of trades over the past year.

Now, Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) has stepped up with H.R. Bill 10199, dubbed the "Sell Your Stocks or Step Down Act." The bill, according to its text, would amend U.S. code to "prohibit the President, the Vice President, Members of Congress, senior United States Government officials, and their spouses and dependents from owning or trading stocks, digital assets, and prediction market contracts, and for other purposes."

Vindman, who has been in Congress since 2025, hasn't reported any stock transactions since taking office, according to data from Quiver Quantitative. He's clearly not just targeting his colleagues; he's also going after Trump. Vindman has a history in national security and was part of the push for the first impeachment of Trump, alleging foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Other Congress Trading Pushes

Vindman's bill currently has no co-sponsors and could face long odds. It targets all members of Congress and would force them to sell their current holdings, which is a tough sell for many.

Earlier this year, the House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act with a 232-198 vote. That bill, however, saw only 13 Democrats support it, largely because it included provisions from the SAVE America Act related to voter identification. It was the first congressional stock trading ban to reach the House floor, but it differed from other bills that had broader bipartisan support but never made it that far.

The Stop Insider Trading Act would have allowed current members to keep their holdings but banned them from making new trades while in office. It also required members to give public notice seven to 14 days before selling. Notably, it only covered members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children, leaving the president out.

Opponents of that bill had various reasons. Some saw it as a sneaky way to attach voter ID requirements. Others thought it didn't go far enough, since it left the president untouched. Bills that would ban the president and don't include voter ID provisions haven't been brought to a vote, but they might have gotten more support from both parties. That nuance was lost in the political spin, as the White House tweeted: "Breaking: 198 Democrats just voted against the Stop Insider Trading Act, which bans members of Congress from trading stocks while in office. Shameful." That tweet got a Community Note for being misleading.

While Vindman's bill may never reach the floor, it highlights how divided Congress remains on who should be able to trade stocks and whether those already in office should keep their holdings. Trump's trades have raised eyebrows over potential conflicts with his public statements and policies, even though the White House says he's unaware of what's in his investment portfolio.

Photo: W. Scott McGill via Shutterstock