McCarthy hits out at Pelosi for lawmaker ban on stock trading

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) swept Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) on Friday following reports that Democratic lawmakers are considering introducing a ban on trading. of actions by lawmakers next month.

During his Friday press conference, McCarthy said it was not “appropriate” for Pelosi to write the bill regarding the ban on stock trading by congressional lawmakers, pointing to the investments his husband, Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist, has made. According to Insider, the couple achieved the vast majority of their wealth through financial transactions made by Paul Pelosi.

“I think we need to do a thorough investigation and look at what the appropriate role of members of Congress is and what influence they have, and I don’t think the right way to do this is for Nancy Pelosi to write the bill because we proved she can’t do this,” McCarthy told reporters.

Pelosi signed a periodic transaction report on Tuesday revealing that her husband had sold up to $5 million worth of stock in Nvidia, a software company. According to the document, the transaction resulted in a loss of $341,365. A separate periodic transaction report signed by the president on July 14 revealed that her husband had exercised 200 Nvidia call options that month.

The document reflecting the stock sale came a day before the Senate passed a flea and science bill, which the House approved the next day.

Asked about the decision to sell the holdings at the time of the House vote, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told The Hill in a statement that Paul Pelosi bought options to buy Nvidia stock some time ago. more than a year and had finally exercised them on July 17.

“As always, he is not discussing these matters with the President until the transactions have been completed and the required disclosures have been prepared and filed. Mr. Pelosi decided to sell the shares at a loss rather than allow the misinformation in the press about this trade to continue,” Hammill added.

Punchbowl News reported on Thursday that House Democrats plan to roll out a framework in August to bar lawmakers, their spouses and senior executives from trading stocks and selling out entirely or placing the investments in a qualified blind trust. Sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that those affected by the bill would still be allowed to invest in mutual funds.

McCarthy suggested on Friday that Pelosi may have shared information about the potato chip bill with her husband, while acknowledging he was unsure whether those conversations had taken place.

“Look, I think the Speaker of the House has a greater determination of what happens to the floor, what comes out of the committee. And her husband didn’t just trade stocks, he traded options. I think what her husband did was wrong,” McCarthy said.

“When she said she never told him anything I know they spent their time together overseas and when they get back I’m sure she had conversations on the phone about what was going on go on the ground. I’m sure she had conversations about what the chip version ended up looking like. I’m sure she had those conversations; I don’t know if he could hear them or not. But I think we have to restore confidence in this institution,” he added.

McCarthy said that if Republicans took control of the House in November and he became president as a result, he would “follow through” legislation banning lawmakers from trading stocks. The minority leader said he only owned mutual funds and not stocks.

“What I told everyone, we will come back and we will not only investigate this, we will come back with a proposal to change the current behavior,” he added.

The Hill reached out to Pelosi to comment on McCarthy’s remarks.

House and Senate lawmakers have introduced bills this year to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, but none have taken off.

At first, Pelosi did not support a ban on stock trading by lawmakers, arguing that members of Congress should be allowed to participate in the “free market economy.”

In January, however, she changed her stance, with multiple sources reporting that the Speaker had instructed the House Administration Committee to begin drafting a measure.