AOC Calls for Ban on Congressional Trading After Tariff Drama

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is renewing her push to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. Her call comes after recent market volatility seemingly driven by former President Donald Trump's announcements regarding tariffs.

Critics often argue that allowing lawmakers to trade stocks creates potential conflicts of interest and can resemble insider trading.

The backdrop for AOC's renewed push involves sharp market swings following tariff-related announcements by former President Trump. These rapid changes highlighted how advance knowledge of government actions could potentially lead to quick financial gains.

AOC directly addressed this possibility on social media. She tweeted: "Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now. I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor. Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things."

Her message strongly implies a suspicion that some members of Congress may have traded stocks based on inside information related to the tariff news.

Significantly, AOC posted her comment while retweeting a graph. According to the notes, this graph showed a noticeable spike in NASDAQ call options—bets that the market would rise—in the minutes immediately preceding the public announcement of a tariff pause.

This timing suggests that traders with advance knowledge may have placed bets expecting the market to rise, potentially profiting significantly when the news officially broke.

Adding another layer, former President Trump himself posted on his TRUTH Social platform just hours before the tariff pause became public. He wrote: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT".

Some observers noted this post could be seen as signaling the market move ahead of time, potentially benefiting those who acted on his message before the official news. It could also be a message meant to cover for those who actually had insider information. Anyone who bought stocks following his post likely saw gains shortly after the pause announcement.

While not universally supported, the idea of banning congressional stock trading has drawn interest from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Figures like AOC on the progressive left and some conservatives, such as former Representative Matt Gaetz and members of the House Freedom Caucus, have previously expressed support for such reforms. The recent events have brought the debate back into focus.