Rivals AOC, Gaetz, Join to Take On Politicians’ Investing

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., teamed up Tuesday to introduce legislation that bans financial investments by members of Congress, spouses and dependents, the Daily Mail has reported.

The progressive Democrat and conservative Republican joined moderate Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the Problem Solvers’ Caucus, as well as California Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi to present the legislation, called the Restoring Faith in Government Act.

“The fact that members of the Progressive Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, reflecting the entirety of the political spectrum, can find common ground on key issues like this should send a powerful message to America,” Fitzpatrick said.

Ocasio-Cortez added that “when members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it. It’s really that simple.”

Gaetz, who has frequently sparred with Ocasio-Cortez over the years, said the legislation was necessary, because “members of Congress are spending their time trading futures instead of securing the future of our fellow Americans. We cannot allow the Swamp to prioritize investing in stocks over investing in our country.”

Many hoped for stock ban legislation last Congress after reports revealed hundreds of lawmakers regularly trade stocks directly related to their work in Congress.

Of the 435 House members, 183 traded stocks through themselves or their immediate family members from 2019 to 2021, according to a New York Times report from September. At least 97 bought or sold stocks, bonds or other financial assets through themselves or their spouses that directly intersected with their congressional work.

The trades that intersect with committee work are split evenly on partisan lines – 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

This included last July when then Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul bought $5 million in semiconductor chip stock days before a House vote that handed $52 billion to semiconductor producers. Following publicity of the purchase, he sold the shares at a loss to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

However, despite the pressure for legislation, a bill to ban congressional stock trades in the previous Democrat-led House did not come up for a vote.