Liberal Forum

House Republicans are teeing up a vote in early 2026 on legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading stock, however Democrats are insisting that it be expanded to cover the president, vice president, and their spouses.   On Thursday a group of House Republicans met to hash out the framework for an intraparty compromise that will only place restrictions on lawmakers, with a target date of March for a floor vote.  "I think we’re going to deliver a really strong product in 2026," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) in a statement to the Washington Times, adding that the legislation will include "a lot of elements" of his bipartisan bill - the Restore Trust in Congress Act, which is cosponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI).  The new measure would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading stocks, securities, commodities, futures, or comparable economic investments, and would require current lawmakers to divest such assets within 180 days of the bill's enactment. Future lawmakers would be required to divest within 90 days of taking office.