On Monday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, revealed that she had acquired between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks on April 8 and 9. This timing coincided with President Trump’s announcement to pause a sweeping global tariff strategy, a decision that triggered a significant rise in the stock market after a notable decline.
Ms. Greene’s stock purchases ranged from approximately $21,000 to $315,000 over these two days. Additionally, she liquidated between $50,000 and $100,000 in Treasury bills the day prior to Mr. Trump’s announcement, as per the mandatory disclosures submitted to the House.
This disclosure surfaced as Congressional Democrats have called for investigations into whether the president’s fluctuating trade policies might have been intended to manipulate the market, potentially benefiting allies through insider trading.
Members of Congress are obligated to report their stock transactions within 30 days, although they can only provide broad range estimates rather than precise figures. Ms. Greene’s trades on April 8 and 9, totaling 21 each in the range of $1,001 to $15,000, represent some of the earliest congressional stock trades that will be documented in the coming month as lawmakers outline their financial actions surrounding the time the president advised people to buy the dip before pausing tariffs.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Mr. Trump proclaimed on social media on the morning of April 9. Roughly four hours later, he announced that he would suspend most tariffs on all countries except China, a declaration that resulted in substantial one-day stock market gains.
Heeding this advice, Ms. Greene made stock purchases that day in various companies, including Apple, which has appreciated by approximately 5 percent since then. She also invested in other tech firms and energy companies such as Devon Energy Corporation and the pharmaceutical leader Merck & Company, as noted in her disclosures.
On the previous day, she bought shares in Palantir, which has seen a 19 percent increase in value, and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., whose stock has surged 21 percent. Furthermore, she offloaded Treasury bills amid rising government bond yields triggered by the tariff situation; prior to April 2, when Mr. Trump announced his most extensive tariffs yet, Ms. Greene had acquired up to $500,000 in Treasuries.
As chairwoman of the DOGE subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, Ms. Greene did not respond to requests for comment. In previous instances when her stock transactions were scrutinized, she indicated to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that she relies on a financial adviser for trading decisions and does not influence which companies are traded or the timing of those trades.
Lawmakers from both parties have consistently advocated for legislation to prohibit individual stock trading by members of Congress, aiming to address rising populist sentiments among their constituents.
The current turmoil in the stock market, spurred by Mr. Trump’s unpredictable tariff decisions, has led Democrats to probe who stands to gain financially. Ms. Greene is not the only one appearing to benefit from this market instability.
Representative Rob Bresnahan, a Republican from Pennsylvania and one of the more active stock traders in the freshman class, despite previously stating a desire to ban congressional stock trading, also seems to have profited from Mr. Trump’s tariff alterations.
On March 4, Mr. Bresnahan sold up to $50,000 in Alibaba stock—the day Mr. Trump escalated tariffs on Chinese imports to 20 percent. Alibaba, a major e-commerce platform with connections to the Chinese Communist Party, saw its stock price increase around 30 percent from Mr. Bresnahan’s initial buy to the subsequent sale.
A spokesperson for Mr. Bresnahan mentioned that he relies on a financial adviser who executes trades on his behalf, and he is unaware of the trades before and during their execution. The Alibaba transaction was part of a broader strategic stock portfolio, and upon reporting this to the public, his team ensured controls were in place to prevent further trading of that stock.
While no evidence of insider trading has been found, Democrats are focusing on the potential for wrongdoing as a means to critique Mr. Trump’s tariff strategies and imply that he and his allies are taking advantage of circumstances that negatively affect everyday citizens.
“It is unconscionable that as American families face uncertainty over their financial future during this economic crisis created by the president, insiders may have profited from market fluctuations and potentially committed financial fraud against the American people,” a group of Democrats led by Senators Adam Schiff of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona expressed in a letter last week to Paul Atkins, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In their correspondence, they urged Mr. Atkins to launch an investigation into whether Mr. Trump or any “insiders” had engaged in insider trading or violated other securities regulations.
Separately, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, noted in a fundraising message on April 11 that “any member of Congress who acquired stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now,” following a spike in Nasdaq call volume before Mr. Trump’s announcement. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has long advocated for legislation prohibiting stock trading by members of Congress.
