Ban Congressional Stock Trading

What this plank asks for

Congress will pass a ban on members of Congress (and their spouses and dependent children) trading individual stocks while in office.

The outcome is that members cannot trade individual stocks while they serve. The method is a law that Congress votes on. If you take the pledge, you back candidates who commit to bring this to a floor vote and pass it with nothing unrelated attached.

Where it stands

PENDING

Two pollsters on the Qualifying Pollster List asked a matching question. The Consensus Test needs three. Every counted poll is above 70 percent nationally and above 60 percent in both parties. Two planks on the slate, congressional term limits and a binding Supreme Court ethics code, are fully qualified today. This one is one pollster short.

What moves it: one more listed pollster asks a neutral question about banning members of Congress from trading stocks and clears the same lines.

The evidence

Two Fox waves count as one pollster, and so do two YouGov polls. The medians of the four counted polls are 74 nationally, 78 for Republicans and 71.5 for Democrats. The newest counted poll ended September 14, 2026, so the recency rule stays met until September 14, 2027.

The Fox question adds staff and says stocks, not individual stocks. The YouGov questions cover other elected officials, and the 2024 one is one of about 60 items. We counted them because each tests the same method, a ban on members trading. The 18 month span depends on the 2024 YouGov poll.

The Program for Public Consultation polls are context. The list requires a current transparency credential, and it has none today. It can change that by depositing recent surveys with the Roper Center or joining the AAPOR Transparency Initiative.

The five tests

• Consensus: PENDING. Two of three required pollsters, and every floor is cleared.
• Action: PASS. Congress can pass a law that bans stock trading by its members.
• Outcome: PASS. The demand is a recorded floor vote on a ban, with the passage bars named below.
• Grading: PASS. Every lever below leaves a public record in the member's own chamber.
• Single-Subject: PASS. One outcome. Covering the President or judges would be a separate plank.

In Congress right now

• H.R. 7008, Stop Insider Trading Act, Rep. Bryan Steil, 93 cosponsors. The House passed it 232 to 198 on July 22, 2026. The Senate voted 53 to 47 on September 30, 2026 to end debate and take it up. That needed 60, so it failed. Status: no determination yet. Here is how one will read. The House-passed text added Section 3, "Requiring Voters to Provide Photo Identification," which is not needed to ban stock trading. That makes this version TAINTED. The label does not say the added section is good or bad. This is not yet a published determination.
• S. 1498, HONEST Act, Sen. Josh Hawley, 5 cosponsors. Reported by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on December 10, 2025. No floor action. Status: no determination yet.
• H.R. 5106, Restore Trust in Congress Act, Rep. Chip Roy, 144 cosponsors. Referred to House Administration on September 3, 2025. No committee action. Status: no determination yet.
• Discharge petition 119-11, to force a House vote on H.R. 1908. It has 84 of the 218 signatures it needs. The last one came June 11, 2026.

Bill numbers above belong to the 119th Congress. They expire when the 120th Congress is seated in January 2027. The plank does not.

How signers would be graded

House. Signing a discharge petition. Voting on rules and previous-question votes that decide whether a clean bill reaches the floor. Voting on the bill itself. Voting in committee where votes are recorded.

Senate. Voting on cloture. Voting on the bill itself. Agreeing to or blocking floor action by unanimous consent. This plank has no confirmation standard.

The passage bar is a simple majority in the House. In the Senate, cloture takes 60 votes, then the bill passes by simple majority. No constitutional amendment is needed.

A member is graded only on levers that member could use. On a TAINTED bill, the up-or-down vote does not decide the verdict. The levers listed in the determination do. Each member gets one verdict, KEPT or BROKE.

Lines of attack and our answers

"The House already passed a stock trading ban." The House passed a bill 232 to 198 that also had a voter photo ID section. It barred new purchases and let members sell after seven to 14 days of public notice. The plank asks for a ban on trading.

"Every Senate Democrat voted against a stock ban." The September 30 vote was on ending debate, it needed 60, and the bill carried the photo ID section. The plank asks for a vote on the ban alone.

"Only two pollsters count." That is true, and this page says so. The status is PENDING until a third listed pollster asks the question.

"The Pledge left out polls with higher support." Those polls are published above as context. The list rules apply to every pollster the same way.

"The Pledge picks a side." Both parties are at 69 percent or higher in every counted poll. The votes on the photo ID bill split by party, and we publish that split as recorded.

Sources

1. Economist/YouGov release: yougov.com
2. Economist/YouGov crosstabs: d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net
3. Fox News Poll topline, Sept 2026: static.foxnews.com
4. Fox News Poll crosstabs, Sept 2026: static.foxnews.com
5. Fox News Poll topline, Jan 2026: static.foxnews.com
6. Fox News Poll crosstabs, Jan 2026: static.foxnews.com
7. YouGov crosstab, May 2024: ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net
8. Program for Public Consultation, Feb 2026: publicconsultation.org
9. Program for Public Consultation, Jul 2024: publicconsultation.org
10. Program for Public Consultation, May 2023: publicconsultation.org
11. Harvard CAPS/Harris crosstabs: harvardharrispoll.com
12. Data for Progress, Aug 2026: filesforprogress.org
13. Data for Progress, Apr 2025: filesforprogress.org
14. Morning Consult crosstabs: assets.morningconsult.com
15. Silver Bulletin pollster ratings: natesilver.net
16. House roll call 280: clerk.house.gov
17. Senate roll call 253: senate.gov
18. Congress.gov bill pages: congress.gov , congress.gov , congress.gov
19. Clerk of the House discharge petition page: clerk.house.gov

Last updated October 19, 2026. Criteria version: Draft 3, ratified October 16, 2026.