Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) said that House Democratic leadership will introduce a discharge petition in January to force action on a bill banning stock trading by members of Congress, the president, the vice president and their immediate families.
The effort comes after some House Democrats railed against a bipartisan bill by Magaziner and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), dubbed the Restore Trust in Congress Act, that would have only prohibited lawmakers, their spouses, dependent children and trustees from owning, buying or selling individual stocks, excluding the executive branch.
Magaziner said he has introduced legislation similar to his bill with Roy that also extends to the president and vice president. He said the bill is backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
It is unclear whether the discharge petition will gain enough support from Republicans. Even if all 213 Democrats back the petition, five Republicans will be needed to get it across the 218-signature mark.
“I don’t want to speak for them, but I will say, in general, I think it is possible that some Republicans could support a discharge petition for a bill that also includes the president and the vice president. I would not rule out that possibility. I think especially as we get later in the year and more members are past their primaries, the Republican primaries, more members are retiring and headed for the exit, I would not discount that as a possibility,” Magaziner said.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) introduced a discharge petition earlier this month to force action on Magaziner and Roy’s bill. But Democrats have remained divided on endorsing it, with only 57 members having signed on as of Wednesday evening. Fifteen Republicans have signed on to it as well.
Jeffries blasted Luna’s effort last week, arguing that any ban needs to be extended to the executive branch.
“If she’s interested in dealing with corruption, do something about the active ongoing crime scene coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the most corrupt administration in American history. And it’s not even close. And we don’t hear a peep from her or any of her colleagues about even extending the stock ban to the executive branch to Donald Trump, to JD Vance, or perhaps even to the Supreme Court,” Jeffries said.
Magaziner said Wednesday that he supports both bills.
“My posture is that I support both discharge petitions, and I urge everybody to sign both,” he said.
