The House Administration Committee will hold a markup Wednesday morning on a closely watched plan from GOP leadership to crack down on lawmaker insider trading, according to three people granted anonymity to share scheduling plans not yet made public.
The legislation from Chair Bryan Steil and House GOP leaders would allow lawmakers to hold the current stocks they own but require a seven-day notice before making sales, as POLITICO first reported. It also would bar lawmakers and their spouses from buying new stocks.
Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leaders have been searching for a legislative compromise to appease Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and other rank-and-file House Republicans, who have for months been threatening to launch a discharge petition effort to circumvent leadership and force a floor vote on a full congressional stock trading ban.
Luna, in a promising sign for Johnson, said in an interview last week she supports the current legislation pending before the House Administration Committee because it would force a “disgorgement” period.
But the bill still faces an uphill climb. Senior House Democrats are deeply opposed to the plan and will seek to make changes, arguing the legislation does not constitute a full ban on congressional stock trading.
Key senators, including many Republicans, also deeply oppose any changes to the current rules around lawmaker stock trading, and it’s possible the Senate doesn’t take up the legislation at all should the measure pass the House.
