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Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, fist-bumped at a news conference while discussing a bill to prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Burchett voiced his support for the Restore Trust in Congress Act, co-sponsored by Ocasio-Cortez.
“I’m proud of all these people up here,” Burchett told reporters, flanked by Republicans including Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
Regarding the Democrats present, Burchett remarked, “I don’t agree with some of these people on anything. If Cortez told me the sun was coming up tomorrow, I’d probably go out and check it out, but she’s my buddy.”
He then introduced Ocasio-Cortez, adding, “And now I will introduce my friend Cortez to come up and speak,” as the two fist-bumped.
Ocasio-Cortez recalled that soon after joining Congress in 2019, she and Roy had a conversation about money and politics.
“I think that this issue has brought so many of us across the political spectrum together because we are united by the value that people should feel that their elected representative puts them and their interests first,” she said.
“It is one of those rare moments where I feel like Washington is working the way that it’s supposed to work. It feels foreign. It feels alien… It is proof that things can work here,” she added.
“And when we put our disagreements aside, of which of course there may be many, but we focus on the things that we have in common, we can make our country better, we can make this institution better, and we can increase and earn the faith of the American people,” she continued.
She also praised the American public for supporting efforts to stop lawmakers from trading individual stocks. Luna emphasized that point, saying she believes 95 percent of Americans back such a ban.
Luna further stated that if House leadership fails to bring the bill to the floor by the end of September, she has a discharge petition ready to force a vote.
“The president has stated that he supports banning this because it is corrupt. Frankly, the fact that members are getting plus-600 percent returns on their investments is wrong,” Luna said.
President Donald Trump previously highlighted that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio outperformed Warren Buffett’s over the last decade, with Pelosi’s portfolio growing 720 percent compared to Buffett’s 185 percent.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also noted, “Nancy Pelosi makes $174,000 a year, yet has a net worth of approximately $413 million. Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio outperformed every single large hedge fund. The president doesn’t want to see people like Nancy Pelosi enriching themselves off of public service.”
Pelosi dismissed accusations of insider trading when questioned by CNN’s Jake Tapper, calling them “ridiculous.” She said, “I very much support the stop of the trading of members of Congress — not that I think anybody is doing anything wrong. If they are, they are prosecuted and they go to jail.”
“I have no concern about the obvious investments that have been made over time. I’m not into it. My husband is, but it isn’t anything to do with anything insider,” Pelosi added.
Both House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have expressed support for banning members from trading individual stocks.
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