Is It Legal for Members of Congress to Trade Stocks?

The short answer. Yes. Members of Congress, senior executive-branch officials, their spouses and their dependent children may legally buy and sell individual stocks. They must disclose each transaction within 45 days under the STOCK Act of 2012, in value bands rather than exact figures. As of 27 July 2026, the most active discloser in the last twelve months of filings we hold is Donald J Trump.

Who discloses the most stock trading?

Ranked by the estimated value of trades disclosed in the last twelve months, using the midpoint of each filed band.

Why are the amounts estimates?

Because that is all that is disclosed. A filer reports a band — $1,001 to $15,000, $15,001 to $50,000, $50,001 to $100,000 and upwards — never a figure. Every total in every congressional trading tracker, including this one, is built from band midpoints. For a single trade the error can be large. Across hundreds of trades the midpoints average out reasonably, which is why the ranking is more trustworthy than any individual row in it.

Is Congress about to ban this?

It is closer than it has ever been. On 22 July 2026 the House passed H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, by 232 votes to 198. It would bar members, spouses and dependent children from buying new individual stocks, require seven days' public notice before a sale, and fine violations at $2,000 or 10% of the transaction, whichever is greater. Existing holdings could be kept and eventually sold. Its path through the Senate is unclear.

Public opinion is not the obstacle: the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation found 86% support for a ban, at 87% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats and 81% of independents.

Note what a ban would and would not do to the data. Sales would still be disclosed, and existing holdings would still be reported for years, so the record does not disappear — it thins.

What this cannot tell you

• Who actually made the decision. Many filers hold managed or blind accounts and never direct a trade.
• Whether they knew anything. A trade in a company your committee oversees is a conflict of interest, which is a different thing from proof of insider trading.
• What happens next. Disclosures run up to 45 days behind. This is a record, not a signal.

Educational information, not financial advice. Every figure on this page is read from the source filings when the page loads rather than written into the article, so what you are reading is today's data and not a snapshot of the day it was published.