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"If Congress wants to wash itself of conflicts of interest it can start by passing a stock trading ban."
Dozens of U.S. lawmakers and their families bought or sold up to $113 million worth of shares in top Pentagon contractors this year, an analysis published on Wednesday revealed.
The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft found that at least 37 members of Congress and their relatives traded between $24-113 million worth of stock in companies listed on Defense and Security Monitor's Top 100 Defense Contractors index.
As the Quincy Institute noted: "Eight of these members even simultaneously held positions on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, the committees overseeing defense policy and foreign relations. Members of Congress that oversee the annual defense bill and are privy to intelligence briefings have an upper hand in predicting future stock prices."
The analysis found that one Democratic congressman accounted for the vast bulk of defense stock trading in 2024.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey traded at least $22 million and as much as $104 million worth of shares in companies on the index, including Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, and IBM. Gottheimer—who said his trades are handled by a third-party firm—sits on both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the National Security subcommittee of the Committee on Financial Services.
(Image: Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft/Datawrapper)
Next on the list in distant second place is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has defended stock trading by lawmakers, and according to Quincy, "sold over $1 million worth of Microsoft stock in late July."
"The timing of Pelosi's Microsoft trades in the past have garnered attention, too; in March 2021, she bought Microsoft call options less than two weeks before the Army announced a $22 billion contract with the software company to supply augmented reality headsets," the analysis states.
"Pelosi had the most profitable 2024 of any lawmaker, netting an estimated $38.6 million from all stock trading activity, according to Quiver Quantitative," the report adds.
Pelosi was followed by Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Scott Franklin (R-Fla.), and Thomas Keane Jr. (R-N.J.).
The Quincy Institute asserted: "If Congress wants to wash itself of conflicts of interest it can start by passing a stock trading ban. The Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks Act, or ETHICS Act, would prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks."
The ETHICS Act was approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in July. The full Senate—which will be GOP-controlled starting next month—has yet to vote on the bill.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Bide n was applauded by progressive lawmakers for backinga ban on congressional stock trading and asserting that "nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they're in the Congress."
On Monday, Biden signed the $895 billion Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025. As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has highlighted, "Of that nearly $1 trillion dollars... about half will go to a handful of hugely profitable defense contractors."
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) decried both the enormity of the military budget, as well as the fact that some of her colleagues have profited from investments in the military-industrial complex.
Tlaib has introduced the Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act, which would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading defense stocks or having financial interests in companies that do business with the U.S. Department of Defense.
In 2012, Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, legislation that has been panned as
weak and ineffective.
"Sorry I couldn't pull it through everyone—we live to fight another day," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media following the vote.
Update:
The House Democratic caucus on Tuesday chose Rep. Gerry Connolly over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the ranking spot on the House Oversight Committee in the upcoming Congress.
The result of the secret-ballot vote, according toAxios, was 84 for Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and 131 for Connolly (D-Va.).
"Tried my best," the New York progressive wrote on social media following the vote. "Sorry I couldn't pull it through everyone—we live to fight another day."
In a statement, Connolly thanked his colleagues "for their support and the confidence they've placed in me to lead House Democrats on the Oversight Committee," which will be under GOP control through at least 2026.
"We know what the Republican playbook will be. We have seen it before," said Connolly. "They have demonstrated that they are willing to traffic in debunked conspiracy theories and enable the worst abuses of the Trump administration. This will be trench warfare. Now is not the time to be timid."
"I promise the American people that our committee Democrats will be a beacon of truth and prepared from Day One to counter Republican gaslighting," he added. "We will be disciplined. We will be laser-focused on getting results on the kitchen table issues that affect the American people the most. We will stand up for our democracy and for truth. And we will protect the tremendous and historic progress we have made as House Democrats."
Earlier:
Rep. Gerry Connolly narrowly bested Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a secret-ballot vote Monday for the ranking spot on the House Oversight Committee in the upcoming Congress—but the New York progressive still has a shot to secure the role in a full Democratic caucus vote on Tuesday.
Connolly's (D-Va.) bid for the top Democratic slot on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability—which could play a central role in investigating the incoming Trump administration in the coming years—is backed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has frequently clashed with Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other progressives on policy.
The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted 34-27 behind closed doors on Monday to recommend Connolly over Ocasio-Cortez for the oversight role. While full caucus votes "typically align with the steering panel's recommendations," Politiconoted, "two Democratic allies of Ocasio-Cortez... predicted the full caucus, composed of younger members who might be more likely to favor the 35-year old liberal compared to the steering panel, could sway in favor of the progressive New Yorker."
"Members said Connolly attracted staunch support from centrist Democrats after spending the last several weeks campaigning with key members," Politico reported. "He moved to lock down critical bases of support like the centrist New Democrat Coalition."
Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, is backed by the roughly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus as well as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The New York progressive also secured the backing of a majority of members on the House Oversight Committee, which is set to be controlled by Republicans through at least 2026.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote on social media late Monday that "many" in the House Democratic caucus, including himself, will back Ocasio-Cortez in Tuesday's vote.
"AOC is objectively a more skilled communicator and narrative shaper than just about anyone in her party, and certainly more than Connolly."
Following Monday's steering panel vote, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that she is "locked in" and "working hard."
"We are still in this," she wrote on social media. "This is the difficult business of hope and defying expectation. We do not give up. We run through the tape."
In private, Ocasio-Cortez—who won her seat in Congress by toppling a high-ranking Democrat—has "signaled" to her colleagues that she "might no longer back congressional primary challenges" against them, according toPolitico, which cited three unnamed people familiar with her remarks.
The race between Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez is widely seen as a proxy fight between the younger, more progressive faction of the Democratic Party and the old guard, which appears bent on maintaining control. In recent days, Pelosi has reportedly been "actively working to tank" Ocasio-Cortez's chances of winning the oversight spot by making calls in support of Connolly.
Slate's Alexander Sammon wrote in a column Tuesday that "it's a bad move" for Pelosi and other leading establishment Democrats to back Connolly over Ocasio-Cortez, "one of the best-known progressives in the country" and also "one of the best-known Democrats period."
"With Trump in office, the role of Oversight will be extremely important, especially for a party that is begging voters to believe that they are well positioned to tackle corruption," Sammon wrote. "AOC is objectively a more skilled communicator and narrative shaper than just about anyone in her party, and certainly more than Connolly. Her ability as an explainer is top-notch, and her penchant for conveying outrage and injustice is sorely lacking in the party's upper echelons."
"Pelosi's penchant for backroom sabotage was easy to cheer when she was pushing fellow octogenarian and likely loser Joe Biden out of the presidential race; it's harder to justify when an eminently qualified rising star—who, whether Pelosi likes it personally or not, is widely known to be a cornerstone of the party's future—pushes for a simple promotion," Sammon added.
"It is so infantilizing to the House leadership to have a B team of octagenarians scheming behind their backs and aiming directly at their most promising young talent," said one progressive journalist.
Progressives on Thursday were frustrated by reports that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is using her considerable influence on Capitol Hill to undermine Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's bid to become the top Democrat on the powerful committee that could launch investigations into the Trump White House in the coming years.
As Common Dreamsreported last week, Pelosi (D-Calif.) has publicly indicated that she is supporting Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) to succeed Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) as ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability when the 119th Congress begins in January.
But Punchbowl Newsreported Thursday that Pelosi—well-known for her relentless and often successful efforts to whip votes within the Democratic caucus—is also "making calls" to other Democratic lawmakers on behalf of Connolly.
The outlet reported that the former House speaker is "actively working to tank" the candidacy of Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), with whom she has had a rocky relationship at times as the progressive Democrat has pushed the party to embrace far-reaching reforms on climate, immigration, and other issues.
Both Connolly and Ocasio-Cortez believe they have the votes to win the ranking member position. Ocasio-Cortez is a close ally of Raskin, who named her vice ranking member in the current Congress, but the Maryland lawmaker, who is expected to succeed Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has not publicly endorsed either candidate.
The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which has close ties to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), is expected to make a recommendation for the ranking member role, after which the entire Democratic caucus will vote.
The centrist New Democrat Coalition endorsed Connolly on Friday, while a House Democrat told Axios that Ocasio-Cortez "has pretty much the entire [Oversight] Committee with her."
The Congressional Progressive Caucus announced its endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez on Friday, with Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Chair-elect Greg Casar (D-Texas) arguing the congresswoman's "fearless advocacy leading the Oversight Committee will help ensure Democrats retake the House in 2026."
"Throughout her tenure on Oversight, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has been a powerful voice for working people," said Jayapal and Casar. "She has wielded her seat on this committee to hold CEOs, Wall Street, and mega-corporations accountable to the American people. Her investigations that pressured Big Pharma to bring down the price of PrEP and other critical medications are just one example of her influential leadership and commitment to everyday people."
As Axios reported, several older longtime members are facing challenges for leadership roles from the party's younger generation. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she won her election in 2018, and is an outspoken member of the progressive "Squad" which advocates for policies such as Medicare for All and has reportedly angered Pelosi in the past with its embrace of calls to "abolish" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"Many members are concerned about [the] precedent these races are setting," a senior House Democrat told Axios regarding the progressive contests with members like Connolly, who is 74.
Ryan Grim of Drop Site News said Pelosi's lobbying against Ocasio-Cortez "reeks of pettiness."
David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, said the new reporting shows Pelosi attempting to act as a "puppet master."
"It is so infantilizing to the House leadership to have a B team of octagenarians scheming behind their backs and aiming directly at their most promising young talent," said Dayen.
Ocasio-Cortez wrote to colleagues last week to announce her bid for the ranking member position, highlighting her involvement in derailing Republican efforts to "weaponize the committee's investigatory power for partisan purposes" and pledging to balance the Oversight Committee's focus on President-elect Donald Trump's actions with fighting to better the lives of working Americans.
If Democrats win back control of the House in 2026, the committee would be empowered to launch investigations into the incoming Trump administration and would have subpoena power.