Members-Elect Urge House Ban on Stock Trading

Fifty incoming House members asked Democratic leadership to adopt a rule barring members and spouses from owning or trading stocks.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Public Companies

Members-Elect Urge House Ban on Stock Trading

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Should members of Congress be banned from trading stocks?

Rep.-elect Rebecca Cooke and 49 other members-elect signed a November 12 letter urging House Democratic leadership to pass a rule banning members and their spouses from trading stocks. The proposed rule would apply only to the U.S. House, and extending it to the Senate and White House would require additional legislation.

Why it matters

The letter argues a stock trading ban is the fastest way to show voters their concerns were heard and would serve as a down payment on reform. Rep.-elect Mitchell Berman's spokesperson said Berman would support a ban in the rules package, though he did not sign the letter.

Fifty members-elect signed the November 12 letter, a group that includes Rep.-elect Rebecca Cooke of Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. Whether the rule will be adopted when lawmakers amend House rules for the new Congress has not been determined.

The players

Rebecca Cooke

Cooke is a Democrat who flipped Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District and was among the signers urging the stock trading ban.

Mitchell Berman

Berman is a Democrat who flipped Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District and whose spokesperson said he would support a ban in the rules package.

Bryan Steil

Steil is a Republican who wrote and backed a bill critics said did not ban members from owning stocks, and who lost his seat to Berman.

The details

The proposed rule would ban members and their spouses from owning or trading stocks and would apply only to the House. Wisconsin's Tony Wied is the only state lawmaker to disclose stock trades over the past two years, and Bryan Steil, a Republican who lost his seat to Berman, backed a bill critics said did not ban stock ownership.

November 12, 2026: Members-elect send letter to House Democratic leadership.
November 13, 2026: Report on the letter is published.

Market Landscape

Proposals to restrict lawmakers' stock trading are adopted through the House rules package that lawmakers amend at the start of each Congress. The letter seeks to add a ban to that package, which would apply only to House members and not to the Senate or White House.

If adopted, the rule would limit House members and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks, changing how those officials can invest. The rule would not apply to senators or the White House without separate legislation.

The takeaway

Ethics rules for officeholders' investments depend on the House rules package, so the outcome of this letter will determine whether a trading ban takes effect for the new Congress.