In the wake of a furious attack by President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., defended his bill to outlaw stock trading by lawmakers and presidents.
Speaking with Fox News on Wednesday evening, Hawley said his bill would not apply to Trump or Vice President JD Vance.
“I had a good chat with the president earlier this evening, and he reiterated to me he wants to see a ban on stock trading by people like Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress, which is what we passed today,” he shared. “A number of people who are opposed to banning stock trading had said to the president that he would be covered by the bill. He’d have to sell Mar-a-Lago and sell assets…Not the case at all.”
Trump had raged at the potential restriction on Truth Social, calling Hawley a “second-tier senator” and claiming the legislation “targeted” him.
“He is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats,” Trump wrote.
Hawley’s bill started its life as the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act. The bill’s given name was a reference to allegations of insider trading by former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Following changes to the bill in the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, it was renamed the HONEST Act and narrowly passed through the committee by a vote of 8-7 on Wednesday. Hawley joined the Democrats on the committee to advance the modified bill, which pushed requirements for presidential and vice presidential divestments to 2029, to the floor.
Hawley told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that he was “happy to do whatever it would take” to get Trump to sign the bill.
“I want results,” he said.
For her part, Pelosi has publicly backed Hawley’s bill, saying she “is proud to support it.”
“If legislation is advanced to help restore trust in government and ensure that those in power are held to the highest ethical standards, then I am proud to support it — no matter what they decide to name it,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Read more
about recent political developments
