Democrats say they will prioritize banning congressional stock trading after midterm-election victory
According to Reuters, after Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, banning stock trading by members of Congress was set as one of the priority legislative items in early 2027. Hawaii Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said on Thursday that he wanted the ban on congressional stock trading to be among the party’s first legislative priorities.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the next Speaker of the House, said that cleaning up problems in Congress, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court should begin with banning members of Congress from trading stocks. Previously, on September 30, the Senate voted 53 to 47 to block a motion to advance H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, falling short of the 60-vote threshold.
Democrats plan to push the relevant measures after the new Congress opens in January 2027, while also focusing on ending the war in Iran and restoring Medicaid funding.
Original source:
Title: US Congress Democrats plot 'must-have' victories in 2027
Publisher: Reuters
Publication date: November 13, 2026
URL: reuters.com/legal/government/us-congress-democrats-plot-must-have-victories-2027-2026-11-13
Source type: news report
Verification status: Key quotations and facts were verified in this report through multiple reposts and citations
Supporting content: Schatz and Jeffries made the ban on congressional stock trading a priority; the Senate blocked H.R. 7008 on September 30
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After Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, Reuters reported that Senator Brian Schatz and House leader Hakeem Jeffries both made a ban on members of Congress trading stocks a priority for early 2027.
Previously, the House passed H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, in July 2026, but the Senate voted 53 to 47 on September 30 to block a motion to advance it, falling short of the 60-vote threshold. Democrats at the time believed the bill’s restrictions were insufficient and that it was tied to voter ID requirements.
Schatz also cited ending the war in Iran and restoring Medicaid funding as other priorities. Jeffries placed the stock-trading ban within a broader ethics-reform framework involving Congress, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court.
Existing law includes the 2012 STOCK Act, which requires disclosure of trades but does not fully ban holding or trading individual stocks. The new Congress will open on January 3, 2027, and the legislative path still depends on whether the Senate can secure bipartisan support to overcome procedural obstacles.
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After the November 3 midterm elections, Democrats made banning congressional stock trading a priority legislative item for early 2027.
Senator Schatz and House leader Jeffries publicly expressed support for the ban as a priority.
Earlier, on September 30, the Senate voted 53 to 47 to block the advancement of H.R. 7008, falling short of the 60-vote threshold.