The last few days have seen President Trump and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) in a bit of a feud.
This was because Trump took exception to Hawley mentioning Trump in the legislation, but it was not what Trump initially thought.
Hawley reached out to Trump, and they managed to get this fixed, and now Trump is on board with banning stock trades in Congress.
After reports surfaced that Hawley had introduced the legislation, Trump acted as though Hawley was doing the dirty work of Democrats to take him out.
He posted to Truth Social, “Why would one ‘Republican,’ Senator Josh Hawley from the Great State of Missouri, join with all of the Democrats to block a Review, sponsored by Senator Rick Scott, and with the support of almost all other Republicans, of Nancy Pelosi’s Stock Trading over the last 25 years. The information was inappropriately released just minutes before the Vote -- Very much like SABOTAGE!”
Trump added, “The Democrats, because of our tremendous ACHIEVEMENTS and SUCCESS, have been trying to ‘Target’ me for a long period of time, and they’re using Josh Hawley, who I got elected TWICE, as a pawn to help them. I wonder why Hawley would pass a Bill that Nancy Pelosi is in absolute love with -- He is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats. It’s a great Bill for her, and her ‘husband,’ but so bad for our Country!”
He also took a direct shot at Hawley, which I thought was unnecessary. Trump stated, “I don’t think real Republicans want to see their President, who has had unprecedented success, TARGETED, because of the ‘whims’ of a second-tier Senator named Josh Hawley!”
Pelosi went nuts when CNN’s Jake Tapper asked her to comment on Trump’s allegations of insider trading.
Nancy may not trade stocks directly, but you would have to be a moron not to think her husband is not getting information from her based on the timing of many of his trades.
When asked about the comments, Pelosi responded, “That‘s ridiculous. In fact, I very much support the [efforts to] stop 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. But because of the confidence it instills in the American people, don‘t worry about this.”
Hawley did reach out to Trump to explain the legislation, and the two of them apparently worked things out based on the statement by the White House, offering Trump’s support.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "The reason that this idea to put a ban on stock trading for members of Congress is even a thing is because of Nancy Pelosi. I mean, she is rightfully criticized because she makes $174,000 a year. Yet she has a net worth of approximately $413 million. In 2024, Nancy Pelosi's stock portfolio -- this was a fascinating statistic to me -- grew 70% in one year in 2024."
She continued, "I think the president stands with the American people on this. He doesn't want to see people like Nancy Pelosi enriching themselves off of public service and ripping off their constituents in the process."
This is great news, but I really would prefer for Trump to pick up a phone and talk behind the scenes rather than jumping the gun and going after Republicans publicly. I couldn't care less about people like Senator McConnell (R-KY), whom I do not like, but for Senators like Hawley, who have faithfully supported Trump, these attacks make no sense, not to mention the fact that Trump endorsed Hawley in each election, so he is only criticizing his pick.