Speaker Mike Johnson’s September to-do list is getting tougher by the day.
As POLITICO scooped Tuesday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is planning to file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on banning stock trading by members of Congress. Like the parallel push for a vote on releasing the Epstein files, it’s poised to pit Johnson against rank-and-file Republicans who are thirsty to challenge elite corruption — whether their leadership likes it or not.
Luna’s move puts Johnson in a bind.
Johnson has signaled that he’s personally supportive of restricting stock trading by lawmakers. But allowing a vote to happen would trigger backlash from many fellow Republicans — and for what? The bill probably wouldn’t go anywhere in the Senate.
Yet if Johnson stands in the way, he risks fueling a narrative triggered by the Epstein fight that he’s protecting the rich and powerful and against transparency.
Luna has a way to go before she gets the 218 signatures needed to force a vote. But she has some political momentum on her side. The House Ethics Committee said Friday that Rep. Mike Kelly’s (R-Pa.) wife bought shares in steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs after Kelly’s office learned that a Commerce Department action could benefit the company. Kelly has said he and his family “look forward to putting this distraction behind us.”
Johnson’s saving grace might be a GOP division over the right approach to executing a crackdown. Lawmakers have been meeting for months to try to hammer out a consensus bill, with some members concerned the process isn’t going anywhere. Luna wants to force a vote just on a bill from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). Senate Homeland Security will mark up its own stock trading restrictions Wednesday.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/30/congress/mike-johnson-house-stock-trading-ban-00483076
anyone here have an issue with stopping politicians and their families from insider trading?
let's see who does and doesn't support this one, this time, again...
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Crnr2Crnr · Posted
