Congressional Democrats outpaced the S&P 500, according to data collected by Unusual Whales.
“Dems were up 31% & Republicans +26%,” Unusual Whales said. “Meanwhile the S&P500 itself was up 24.9%.”
The greatest-performing Democrat was Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), whose portfolio spiked 142.3%. Following her was Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), whose portfolio increased 123%. Other top-performing Democrats include Reps. Morgan McGarvey (KY) with 105.8%, Nancy Pelosi (CA) with 70.9%, Thomas Suozzi (NY) with 62.7%, Kathy Manning (NC) with 56.3%, Seth Moulton (MA) with 45%, and Tina Smith (NM) with a 44.3% change.
The congressman with the highest returns, however, was Republican Rep. David Rouzer of North Carolina, who had a 149% return.
Last year, a bipartisan group of senators announced a bill to prohibit members of the House and Senate from participating in stock trading. The bill was announced during a press conference by Senators John Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
The Senate measure came as twenty representatives sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), urging them to “hold a vote on legislation to prohibit members of Congress from owning or trading stocks.”
The letter noted that the majority of all Americans support the effort: “According to recent polling, 86 percent of Americans– including 87 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 81 percent of Independents– support prohibiting members of Congress and their families from trading stocks.”
“In a hyper-partisan political environment where American approval ratings of Congress are at an all-time low, this is a common-sense and bipartisan change, making it crystal clear that we come to Washington to serve our constituents, not to serve our own financial interests,” the letter said.
