The corruption of legislators trading stocks

Nancy Pelosi believes she’s entitled to use her political power to “benefit her stock portfolio,” said Timothy Carney. The House speaker last week defended stock trading by members of Congress on the grounds that public servants are entitled to participate in “a free market economy.” But legislators often have inside information that can make their stock purchases more profitable—or holdings that can affect their views on legislation. Pelosi is a case in point. She has stalled multiple bipartisan antitrust efforts “that would affect Big Tech companies,” and Apple CEO Tim Cook “called her personally in June and told her not to move ahead on these bills.” Pelosi’s conflict of interest is huge: She “owns more than $500,000 in Apple stock,” while her very wealthy husband holds significant Apple “call” options. She’s far from the only member of Congress to mix “policymaking” with “profitmaking.” In early 2020, Sens. Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler, and Dianne Feinstein made large stock transactions just before the market tanked, after learning at a closed Senate hearing just how bad the Covid-19 pandemic would be. That’s indefensible. Legislators should not trade in stocks. “The people subsidizing, regulating, taxing, exempting, and protecting corporations” should not also “be investing in them.”

“Is Donald Trump starting to lose his grip on the Republican Party?” asked Matt Lewis. The former president recently demanded that the GOP oust Mitch McConnell as Senate minority leader for rejecting his claim that the 2020 election was stolen. “He is a disaster and should be replaced as ‘Leader’ ASAP!” Trump said. McConnell wasn’t cowed; in fact, he trolled Trump last week by saying the Jan. 6 committee’s work will “reveal all the participants” in the attempted coup, and that it “is something the public needs to know.” Not a single Republican senator came forward to side with Trump against McConnell. Now, Trump himself remains popular with the Republican base, but as a force for endorsements, “his glow may be fading.” His endorsed Senate candidates have dropped out or are losing in Pennsylvania and Alabama, and many Republicans are now more excited about younger leaders, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who mimic Trump’s culture-war stance but avoid his self-defeating bombast. Trump, 75, has lost his Twitter and Facebook platforms, and after seven years “of largely dominating the news,” his act is getting old. He remains a “formidable” factor within the GOP, but if he does seek the 2024 nomination, he’s not “unbeatable.”