Lawmakers play the market

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Dozens of lawmakers beat stock market: report

More than two dozen lawmakers once again outperformed the stock market as bans on congressional trading stalled, according to a new report from the trading trackers at Unusual Whales.

Democrats' portfolio values rose 31 percent and Republicans gained 26 percent while the S&P500 was up 24.9 percent, according to the report.

Unusual Whales also identified a number of conflicts between lawmakers' stock holdings and their work on Capitol Hill.

“The idea of lawmakers trading stocks while legislating is inherently problematic. Congress members shape policies that can directly impact markets. Whether or not they act on insider knowledge, the appearance of potential abuse undermines public trust,” Unusual Whales wrote in the fifth edition of the report.

Stocks owned by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband were up nearly 71 percent in 2024, the report found. Pelosi has faced particularly harsh blowback for her resistance to bipartisan stock trading bans as she consistently reports above-average stock gains, saying members should be able to participate in a “free market economy.”

Nine other lawmakers outperformed Pelosi last year, according to the report. Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.) topped the list with a 149 percent gain, mainly due to Nvidia shares he purchased years earlier.

Unusual Whales also noted “numerous unusual trades," including military contractor stocks purchased by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

Spokespersons for Pelosi, Rouzer, Wasserman Schultz and Newhouse did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Members of Congress have been barred from trading on insider information and required to file financial disclosures for more than a decade under the 2012 STOCK Act. But no lawmaker has ever been charged under the act, raising questions about its effectiveness.

The Hill's Taylor Giorno has more here.

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