U.S. Lawmakers Make Millions From Stock Trading; A Look At The Bill To Ban It
Plus: The Former NY Governor Reflects On Mamdani Primary Loss, Lessons Learned From Resignation
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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
Bill To Ban Lawmakers From Stock Trading Advances In Senate
A Senate committee has narrowly approved a bill that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks — a move aimed at restoring public trust in a group that has profited from privileged access to information. But, the bill still faces a major uphill climb before it passes the full Senate and House.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), was the only Republican to join Democrats Wednesday to move the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments — yes, the “PELOSI Act.” It has since been renamed the “HONEST Act.”
While originally a jab at ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose husband has faced scrutiny for well-timed trades, Pelosi backs the (renamed) bill, saying she supports “any serious effort to raise ethical standards.”
Hawley, who says he does not own any individual stocks, said he will move ahead with the legislation despite some major backlash from some in his own party, including President Donald Trump.
Switcheroo: Hawley said he spoke with President Trump on Thursday and cleared up some confusion — which he said was caused by other senators telling Trump the bill would force him to sell all of his assets and properties. Hawley said by the end of the call, the president’s stance was: "This is good.”
INSIDE THE BILL
If passed and signed into law — and that is a big if — the bill would prevent both members of Congress and their spouses from buying, selling, or owning individual stocks.
The bill would prevent all presidents and vice presidents from doing the same — but only starting during the next presidential term, thanks to a last-minute carve-out for Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Republicans argued that the bill would unfairly punish and disincentivize wealthy Americans from becoming members of Congress. It’s also expensive to be a lawmaker, splitting time between their home district and DC. Members of the House and Senate make $174,000 per year — which has not changed since 2009.
HOW IS THIS LEGAL?
A number of members of Congress in both parties have made tens of millions in recent years, trading off information only they have access to, but it has been historically difficult to prove insider trading. Nearly a fifth of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have bought stocks that are directly tied to their work on congressional committees, a 2022 New York Times investigation found.
Back in 2012, President Barack Obama signed the STOCK Act into law — with bipartisan support. It requires lawmakers to disclose their trades and bans trading on nonpublic information.
It has not done much to deter trading. That is likely because the penalty for violating it is $200.
More than 100 members of Congress (out of 541) have made around 10,000 stock trades per year since 2021 — and they’ve consistently beat the market. In 2024, Democrats’ average return was over 31%, and Republicans around 26%, according to estimates from Unusual Whales. The S&P 500 returned just over 23%.
2025 is on pace to be a record year for trades, according to the platform Capitol Trades.
WHAT’S NEXT
The future of the bill is uncertain, as all Republicans on the Senate committee except Hawley voted against the measure. The GOP controls both the House and Senate, but with slim majorities — so passage could be possible if a few more Republican defectors join.
Nearly 80% of Americans support banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, according to a 2022 poll from Data for Progress.
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🚨 ONE MAJOR INTERNATIONAL STORY
Israel Increasingly Isolated As France, UK, Canada Announce They’ll Recognize Palestinian State
Amid pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, international momentum appears to be building around recognition of a future Palestinian state — but with key caveats.
Canada became the latest G7 country to say it will recognize a Palestinian state if certain conditions are met: reforms to the Palestinian Authority, demilitarization of the Palestinian state, and a release of all the Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity.
France and the United Kingdom also recently said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations meeting in September — with the UK saying it will refrain if Israel promptly agrees to a ceasefire and a lasting peace plan.
Israel has called Canada’s move “a reward for Hamas” and harmful to ceasefire negotiations — arguing that Hamas will have less incentive to return hostages and disband if a Palestinian state is gaining international support. Most UN member states — 147 of 193 — already recognize a Palestinian state, even though it lacks official borders and has multiple governments (Hamas and the Palestinian Authority). Canada, France, and the UK would be the first G7 countries to do so.
STATE OF PLAY
Carney said Palestinian recognition is conditional on the Palestinian Authority, which currently rules over the West Bank, holding free and fair elections in 2026 that Hamas will have no part in. The Palestinian Authority has refused to hold an election for nearly 20 years, since 2006, for fear of Hamas winning given their popularity.
Critics in the US and Israel argue recognition should come only after Israeli and Palestinian leaders reach a negotiated peace deal, agree on borders, and resolve governance issues.
What recognition means: The move is largely symbolic, sending a diplomatic and political message to Israel, which could face further isolation on the world stage. Palestine will remain a UN observer state unless the U.S. drops its opposition to full membership.
Pressure to recognize a Palestinian state is growing in response to concern over human rights abuses amid Israel’s military operations in Gaza, as famine continues to worsen in the enclave.
ZOOM IN ON THE U.S.
Support for Israel’s war efforts in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack has reached a new low — and lawmakers are reacting. Though the Senate voted down a resolution Wednesday to bar U.S. arms sales to Israel, support for the measure grew: twelve Democrats who previously backed arms sales to Israel supported the measure this time, signaling a shift.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, flipped her vote on the Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed resolution — from a no in April, to a yes this time.
“It is clear that the Government of Israel has not conducted its military operations in Gaza with the necessary care required by international humanitarian law. It is also clear that the Government of Israel has failed to allow adequate humanitarian assistance into Gaza, resulting in unbelievable suffering,” she explained.
Over to the Middle East, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is back in the region today for the first time in months, as pressure mounts over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and stalled ceasefire talks.
Witkoff is expected to visit Gaza aid centers to assess the situation on the ground and help determine how the U.S. can better support civilians.
Ceasefire negotiations remain frozen. Last week, both the U.S. and Israel walked away from talks, frustrated by what they said were unreasonable new demands from Hamas which wants to continue to retain power. Hamas currently refuses to return to negotiations.
ARAB LEAGUE CONDEMNS HAMAS
The 22-member countries of the Arab League for the first time on Tuesday publicly condemned Hamas for the October 7th massacre and called for the terrorist group to disarm and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority government.
The Arab League joined an agreement with the EU and 17 other countries at a UN conference that also calls for a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders.
While some individual states in the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel in recent years, the league as a whole still has not formally recognized Israel’s right to exist.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a two-state solution threatens Israel’s security.
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🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
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Lithuania’s prime minister steps down after investigations and protests (AP)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
Rallies for Microsoft and Meta lift Wall Street amid choppy trading (AP)
Technology company Figma more than triples in NYSE debut after selling shares at $33 (CNBC)
Delta flight diverted to Minneapolis after severe turbulence, leaving 25 people on board hospitalized (FOX BUSINESS)
'Communities' of strange, extreme life seen for first time in deep ocean (BBC)
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ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… Whoops, there may have been vodka in your energy drink. High Noon’s hard seltzer was accidentally put into an unspecified number of cans of Celsius, a popular caffeinated energy drink that does not have alcohol.
Now, some of the Celsius Astro Vibe Energy Drink, Sparkling Blue Razz Edition is being recalled. Luckily, it’s easy to spot: the spiked cans have a silver lid instead of a black one.