When elected officials have financial interests tied to their legislative work, it raises ethical concerns: Are they acting in the public’s best interest or for their personal gain?

By Gitanjali Poonia

Members of Congress were active in the stock market last year, disclosing 11,000 transactions tallying up to over $1 billion.

Now — in the attitude of, if you can’t beat them, join them — websites and social media accounts are watching the financial moves of these elected officials and helping Americans trade like members of Congress.

A report, produced by Unusual Whales, a platform that tracks congressional trading, found evidence of conflicts of interest in many cases of congressional trending. This trend is fairly widespread in both the House and the Senate.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, one of the most active traders in Congress, is on the Senate Committee for Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. He traded $250,000 in stocks for wheat, corn, soy and cattle in August, last year, the report stated. He also sits on the Armed Services Committee and has purchased shares of a company used to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

In the lower chamber, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, a venture capitalist, bought $2 million worth of Nvidia stock, at the end of 2023, marking her largest stock purchase in three years. They have already made over $1 million in profit, according to Nasdaq. The AI software company produces semiconductor chips and saw 239% stock growth in 2023.

Pelosi’s moves on the stock market are closely monitored on the internet, with investors, big and small, trying to replicate her success. Scalping data from financial disclosures, many websites, like Capitol Trades and Quiver Quant, and social media accounts, like Congress Stock Watcher, Unusual Whales, Insider Tracker and many others, have popped up to provide inside information on the stocks she and other lawmakers buy. There are, of course, always risks whenever one buys and sells stocks.

https://www.deseret.com/politics/2024/03/29/congress-stock-trading-ban-ethical-concerns/