Biden to let members of Congress decide if they should trade stocks, Psaki says
The president is prohibited from trading stocks while serving the country
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President Biden will "let members of Congress" determine whether they should be allowed to trade stocks, amid scrutiny of lawmakers’ financial trades, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
During the White House press briefing Tuesday, Psaki was asked whether the president believes members of Congress and their spouses should be prohibited from trading stocks.
Biden is prohibited from trading stocks while serving as president.
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Press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily White House briefing on July 20, 2021. (Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The president didn’t trade individual stocks when he was a senator," Psaki said. "That is how we approach things. We also believe that everyone should be held to the highest standard."
She added: "But he’ll let members of the leadership in Congress and members of Congress determine what the rules should be."
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The questions come as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for saying members of Congress and their spouses should be allowed to trade stock as part of a "free market economy."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a press conference at Union Station on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 17, 2022, in Washington. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Two separate bills that would ban stock trading by members of Congress and their spouses were introduced in the Senate last week. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., introduced different versions of similar legislation.
Hawley's version is titled, "Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act," and Ossoff's is called the "Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act."
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Sen. Josh Hawley speaks with reporters as he leaves the Senate floor in the Capitol on Dec. 7, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Lawmakers' spouses are currently allowed to trade in companies or industries that their partner may help regulate. But under the STOCK Act, which was passed in 2012, members of Congress and their families are forbidden to profit from inside information, and lawmakers are also required to report stock trades to Congress within 45 days.
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The push to ban Congress from trading stock has been met with bipartisan support in both chambers. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
FOX Business' Jon Brown contributed to this report.