Prior to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan, all eyes were on the Democratic lawmaker over her husband's purchase—and then sale (at a major loss)—of stock in a U.S.-based chip manufacturer as Congress was debating a bill that would boost the industry. Legislation exists to address this insider trading issue among members of Congress, which has united the likes of AOC and Sen. Josh Hawley, but not surprisingly, it hasn't moved.
One Democratic senator's apparent admission about his investment decisions makes the need to pass such bills all the more important.
During an interview with Bloomberg discussing the Senate budget reconciliation deal, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) expressed hope it would pass but noted that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is still a wildcard.
"In my 14 years here, nothing has surprised me more to the upside in our politics than Joe Manchin coming back on the reconciliation package and getting a deal struck, so I feel good about it, I feel optimistic about it, I'm not buying or selling any stocks based on it because we don't know where Sen. Sinema is going to be."
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— NRSC Rapid Response (@NRSC_Rapid) August 2, 2022
Did @MichaelBennet just admit that he makes investments based on legislation that’s being negotiated in the Senate?
“I’m not buying or selling any stocks based on [the reconciliation bill] because we don’t know where Sen. Sinema is going to be.” pic.twitter.com/nXZ7D3vwF2
Stunning. Michael Bennet is currently running paid advertising pledging to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.#copolitics #cosen https://t.co/IIrWZ5BWF1
— Kyle Kohli (@KyleKohli) August 2, 2022
Wow, bold of @SenatorBennet to just admit that he makes investments based off information he gets during Senate negotiations. Even @SpeakerPelosi isn’t this blatant in admitting it. #copolitics #cosen https://t.co/Cn1phudqtn
— The Colorado GOP (@cologop) August 2, 2022