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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now joined the growing bipartisan calls for a ban on lawmakers trading individual stocks.

Getting into it: While speaking to Bloomberg TV, Bessent said the push for a ban is about protecting the integrity of Congress itself. “I am going to start pushing for a single-stock trading ban, because it is the credibility of the House and the Senate. You look at some of these eye-popping returns…whether it is Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Wyden…every hedge fund would be jealous of them. And the American people deserve better than this.”  

He argued that if a private citizen traded the way some lawmakers and their families have, “the SEC would be knocking on their door,” adding that “people shouldn’t come to Washington to get rich, they should come to serve the American people.”

Bessent’s comments come amid ongoing criticism of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi over profitable and well-timed trades made by her husband, Paul Pelosi. In 2024 alone, his portfolio reportedly outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin. One of many eyebrow-raising transactions was the sale of millions of Microsoft shares just months before an FTC antitrust probe. Pelosi has repeatedly denied accusations of insider trading.

In addition to prominent Democrats, there are some Republicans who have also faced scrutiny for questionable stock trades, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. She’s received similar scrutiny, especially after purchasing shares of Palantir just days before the company secured a lucrative contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), causing its stock to surge. Greene has maintained that all of her investments are handled solely by a financial adviser without her input.

This all comes as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced legislation last month that would bar lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children from buying or trading individual stocks, while also extending the restriction to future presidents and vice presidents. Supporters, including Bessent, argue that the bill is a necessary step to restore public trust and eliminate even the appearance of insider trading by elected officials.

However, some lawmakers oppose the proposal, arguing that it unfairly penalizes members of Congress who must maintain homes in both Washington, DC, and their home districts on salaries they claim are already stretched thin. Lawmakers’ salaries are $174,000 a year.