House Democratic Leaders Urged to Force a Vote on Stock Trading Ban [View all]

Enough Republicans are on a discharge petition to get a House vote to end congressional stock trading—if Democrats sign on.

https://prospect.org/2025/12/11/house-democratic-leaders-urged-to-force-vote-stock-trading-ban/


House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill, November 17, 2025. Credit: Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

Mike Johnson has lost control of the House of Representatives. Since reopening the chamber in November after a 53-day sojourn, he has seen continued Republican retirements and resignations in advance of an expected loss of power in next year’s midterms. Voting days have often devolved into recriminations involving individual members. Consensus to avoid a major legislative embarrassment by allowing Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums to skyrocket has been lacking. And Johnson has on several occasions lost control of the agenda-setting power to schedule floor votes, the most basic authority of a House Speaker.

Discharge petitions, which if signed by a majority of House members can go around the Speaker and obtain an automatic floor vote, have succeeded on two occasions in recent weeks. The discharge petition for the bill to release the Jeffrey Epstein files resulted in a resounding vote of approval and passage into law, a major embarrassment for Johnson’s attempt to shield Donald Trump from scrutiny over his relationship with the disgraced pedophile. House members also forced consideration of the Protect America’s Workforce Act, a bill that would overturn Trump’s executive order stripping collective-bargaining rights from one million federal workers; that bill will get a House vote this week.

A third discharge petition has been filed that would finally bring up for floor consideration a congressional stock trading ban, one of the most popular policies of the past decade. Yet this petition has moved slowly out of the gate despite overwhelming and bipartisan public support; legislation banning stock trading by members of Congress is favored by more than 80 percent of Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

The current petition has more than enough Republican support to get a floor vote if all Democrats sign it. Some insiders working on the matter believe that Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is missing a chance to deliver his caucus, further embarrass Johnson, and take credit for securing a key legislative priority. “This could be a huge win for Democrats, and would be a huge missed opportunity if not taken,” said Aaron Stephens, a legislative strategist with P Street, the lobbying arm of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “If every Democrat got on the discharge petition, we could pass this bill in the House within days, with immense public support.”

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