29-07-2025
Hawley's stock trading ban sparks drama with White House
Sen. Josh Hawley' s (R-Mo.) stock trading ban is turning into a GOP headache — with White House lawyers raising alarm ahead of a committee vote on Wednesday, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: In order to move forward, the bill may now include the president and vice president, in addition to Congressional members, in its ban on certain investments.
Hawley needs Democratic support to get the bill through the committee vote set for Wednesday due to opposition from Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky), at a minimum.
So he agreed to include language that would subject the president and vice president to the ban, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.
The White House's Office of Legal Affairs caught wind — and started pushing back, sources tell us.
Zoom in: Hawley's Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act bans members of Congress from trading or holding individual stocks.
President Trump has expressed openness to supporting such a bill in the past.
A similar bipartisan bill passed the committee last year, which also would have forced the president and VP to divest from certain investments.
It's this language from last year's bill that is expected to replace the PELOSI Act ahead of the committee markup — though negotiations are still in flux. In response to White House pushback, Hawley also plans to make the ban effective only at the start of a member's or elected official's next term, per a source familiar with the plans.
The intrigue: Paul reiterated to Axios that he is opposed to the legislation, saying it could prevent people like Trump from being president and add another hurdle for people considering running for office.
