Whether you like it or not, members of Congress are allowed to buy and sell stocks. True, federal law prohibits them from using "nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit," and they're required to disclose their trades.
That said, it's understandable if folks don't quite trust politicians to be on the up and up when their personal fortunes might appear to be in tension with their duties as elected representatives.
Perhaps this is unfair; even cynical. But to modify a famous quote from Upton Sinclair, it's difficult to get a person to understand something when that person's salary depends upon the person not understanding it.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Take, for instance, the recent uproar around President Donald Trump, who said shortly before announcing a reversal on reciprocal tariffs that it "is a great time to buy stocks."
The reversal sparked a historic stock market rally and has some high-profile Democrats questioning if anyone in the Trump administration profited off the announcement.
Disclosure rules are supposed to help mitigate this problem. Thanks to these requirements, the public can follow what members of the House and Senate are doing with their investments.
Before we go further, please note that this activity shouldn't be used for trading purposes.
After all, insider buying and selling at publicly traded companies is voluminously disclosed and analyzed, but it doesn't really tell us much. That's because insiders – the executives and board members who know what's going on – can sell for any number of legitimate reasons, from paying tuition to portfolio diversification.
When it comes to stocks, insider buying is actually a more useful piece of information. And even then, it's not exactly a screaming buy signal.
Using insider activity among members of Congress as the basis for some kind of trading system is not a rigorous idea.
With those caveats out of the way, it is indeed interesting to see which stocks, bonds and private investments are most popular with members of the House and Senate. Perhaps more interesting is how certain pols churn their portfolios, which is to be avoided if you're a retail investor.
Have a look at the below table to see which politicians were the most active traders by volume over the past 90 days, according to data from Capitol Trades.
Stocks politicians are buying and selling
Congress member | 90-day volume | Major buys | Major sells |
|---|---|---|---|
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. | $18.3 million | AppLovin (APP), ASML Holding (ASML), Booking Holdings (BKNG) | Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Air Products and Chemicals (APD), Apple (AAPL) |
Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. | $15.8 million | Bethlehem Area School District, Delaware River Port Authority, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) | Goldman Sachs (GS), Paramount Global (PARA) |
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. | $14.5 million | Brazil Government Bonds, Not Fade Away LLC, MH Built to Last LLC | Commodore Capital Domestic LLC, ELCM2 LLC |
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. | $11.9 million | National Bank of Canada (NTIOF), Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Netflix (NFLX) | Alphabet (GOOGL), Starbucks (SBUX), GE Vernova (GE) |
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. | $7.9 million | Austin Independent School District, State of Ohio Higher Education Facility, Texas Transportation Commission | City of Seattle, Colorado Health Facilities Authority, Florida Housing Finance Corp. |
Related content
-
Markets Prepare for August Inflation Data: Stock Market TodayApple CEO Tim Cook is still important, but price action this week is as much about incoming inflation data ahead of next week's Fed meeting.
-
New ‘Taylor Swift Tax’ on Vacation and Second Homes: Is Your Home Next?Property Taxes An upcoming tax on luxury vacation homes is garnering attention on social media. Could a similar property tax land in your state soon?
-
Markets Prepare for August Inflation Data: Stock Market Today
Apple CEO Tim Cook is still important, but price action this week is as much about incoming inflation data ahead of next week's Fed meeting.
-
From Job Loss to Free Agent: A Financial Professional's Transition Playbook (and Pep Talk)The American workforce is in transition, and if you're among those affected, take heart. You have the skills, experience and smarts that companies need.
-
A Financial Planner's Top Five Items to Prioritize When Your Spouse Is IllDuring tough times, it's easy to overlook important financial details, but you'll be so much better off if you take care of these things right now.
-
An Expert Guide to Outsmarting Inflation: Don't Let It Restrict Your RetirementInflation is often underestimated when estimating retirement income, education funding or investment returns. These strategies can help preserve your purchasing power and reduce your financial anxiety.
-
Your 401(k) Options Just Got More Complicated: Here's What You Need to KnowPrivate equity, real estate and expanded annuities are now options, but they are more complex, less flexible and more expensive to own.
-
One Big Beautiful Bill, One Big Question: Will We Keep Giving?The rules on charitable giving are changing. For some, tax deductions for donations are now an option. For others, that option may have been curtailed.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Here Are Five Phases of Retirement Planning You Have to Get RightA solid retirement plan is a must, but you can't go halfway. Neglecting just one area of your plan could cause the whole thing to collapse.
-
An IRS Enrolled Agent's Top 10 Reasons to Stop Doing Your Own TaxesTaxes can get complicated quickly, and the more money you have, the tougher they tend to be. So, if you have any of these 10 tax situations, don't risk it.
