Full List of Lawmakers Who Traded Stocks After Trump's Tariffs Announcement
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
In the days that followed President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" announcements, the climax of his second-term trade policy, lawmakers reported hundreds of stock trades.
Newsweek has compiled a ranking of trades made by members of Congress between April 3, the day after President Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on dozens of trading partners, and when these were paused on April 9.
Why It Matters
The imposition and subsequent reversal of the president's sweeping tariff policies resulted in significant stock market volatility, with indexes crashing following the announcement and those who purchased in the interim benefitting from a boost when these were placed on hold. The high number of trades made by lawmakers during this period has again raised questions about the ethics of congressional stock trading.
Rob Bresnahan speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. President Donald Trump speaks during a 'Make America Wealthy Again' trade...
Rob Bresnahan speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. President Donald Trump speaks during a 'Make America Wealthy Again' trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 21, 2020. More
Carolyn Kaster / Chip Somodevilla / Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo / Getty Images / AP Photo
Members of Congress are permitted to buy and sell stocks, provided they disclose these within 30 days of the transaction, per the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. However, many lawmakers, including some of those in the list below, have advocated that lawmakers be banned from stock trading altogether, given the insider knowledge they may have of market-moving events, as well as the concerns this could raise among citizens' regarding possible conflicts of interest. Surveys have also shown that overwhelming bipartisan majorities are in favor of banning stock trading by members of Congress.
Which Lawmakers Made Trades After Liberation Day?
Below is a list of trades made by U.S. lawmakers between April 3 and April 9, based on publicly available disclosures tracked by insiderfinance.io. The list includes both sales and purchases during this time and is ranked according to the total number.
Representative Rob Bresnahan, Republican, Pennsylvania
Total trades: 182
Representative Josh Gottheimer, Democrat, New Jersey
Total trades: 87
Representative Jefferson Shreve, Republican, Indiana
Total trades: 57
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican, Georgia
Total trades: 42
Representative Julie Johnson, Democrat, Texas
Total trades: 31
Representative Jared Moskowitz, Democrat, Florida
Total trades: 25
Senator Markwayne Mullin, Republican, Oklahoma
Total trades: 20
Representative Michael McCaul, Republican, Texas
Total trades: 18
Senator John Boozman, Republican, Arkansas
Total trades: 14
Representative Dwight Evans, Democrat, Pennsylvania
Total trades: 13
Representative April Delaney, Democrat, Maryland
Total trades: 10
Representative Bruce Westerman, Republican, Arkansas
Total trades: 7
Senator Dave McCormick, Republican, Pennsylvania
Total trades: 6
Representative Tony Wied, Republican, Wisconsin
Total trades: 5
Senator Ashley Moody, Republican, Florida
Total trades: 4
Representative Gilbert Cisneros, Democrat, California
Total trades: 3
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat, Rhode Island
Total trades: 2
Representative Mike Collins, Republican, Georgia
Total trades: 2
Representative Kevin Hern, Republican, Oklahoma
Total trades: 2
Representative Rick Larsen, Democrat, Washington
Total trades: 2
Representative Vicente Gonzalez, Democrat, Texas
Total trades: 2
Representative Gilbert Cisneros, Democrat, California
Total trades: 1
Representative Victoria Spartz, Republican, Indiana
Total trades: 1
Representative Max Miller, Republican, Ohio
Total trades: 1
Representative Donald Sternoff Beyer, Democrat, Virginia
Total trades: 1
Despite being the two most prolific traders on this list, Pennsylvania Republican Bresnahan and New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer have both in the past advocated for regulations on congressional stock trading.
In 2024, Bresnahan penned an article in the Pottsville Republican Herald in which he said he would "happily co-sponsor" bipartisan legislation aimed at banning congressional stock trading. In May, following a report on his stock trades in the New York Times, Bresnahan introduced a bill entitled the Transparency in Representation through Uniform Stock Trading Ban Act, which would go into effect in 2027 and require lawmakers to place certain assets into a blind trust, an arrangement in which assets are transferred to and managed by a third party without the individual's knowledge or control. Bresnahan said he would work to move his own personal assets into a blind trust in a May 6 press release.
Gottheimer told CNBC in 2022 that he didn't believe members of Congress should not be "be directly involved in trading," and instead said hand control of their investments over to a blind trust, later cosponsoring legislation to this end. Gottheimer said that his own investments were managed by an outside party, adding: "I think that's the way it should be: Hands off, third-party, no decision-making from a member of Congress."
Newsweek has reached out to the offices of Representatives Bresnahan and Gottheimer via phone for comment.
What People Are Saying
Republican Representative Mike Lawler, in response to a chart showing the gains made by a stock purchased by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, wrote: "Just another reason why stock trading by members of Congress or their spouses should be banned. The appearance of impropriety, or worse, is too great."
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, in a statement following the introduction of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, said: "Members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we make Federal policy and have extraordinary access to confidential information. Stock trading by members of Congress massively erodes public confidence in Congress and creates a serious appearance of impropriety, which is why we should ban stock trading by members of Congress altogether."
What Happens Next?
President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs are still subject to the 90-day pause announced on April 9, which will expire in early July. The administration has said that this window will allow for comprehensive negotiations with America's main trading partners.
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