Pelosi’s Worst Nightmare: Fed’s New Rules Crack Down on Stock Trades

Nancy Pelosi has got to be upset.

The leftist House speaker recently made headlines when she defended the controversial practice of elected officials trading individual stocks.

Of course, critics say such transactions can often be practically the same as insider trading.

Nevertheless, the California Democrat seemed to be in favor of just about anyone wading deep into the stock market.

Clearly, not everyone agrees.

Although it will not impact her directly, the Federal Reserve recently cemented a plan to crack down on trades by its top officials.

The move might be the latest evidence that the tide is turning against Pelosi’s position.

As the Daily Caller reported:

The Federal Reserve formally adopted new rules Friday restricting the central bank’s senior officials’ ability to trade stocks, bonds and currencies.

The rules, which were introduced in October 2021, prohibit senior Fed officials from purchasing individual stocks, sector funds, cryptocurrencies, bonds, agency securities, commodities, foreign currencies and derivative securities, the central bank said in a press release.

The new restrictions, which are set to take effect May 1, “aim to support public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the [interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market] Committee’s work by guarding against even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” according to the press release.

While this might be seen as a formal rebuke of Pelosi’s position, plenty of social media users have already sounded off on the issue.

.@katieporteroc on the Congress stock trade ban: "Pelosi was wrong. I’m glad that she’s changed her mind, I think that’s a marker of leadership. But the reality is I am always willing to stand up to leaders of both parties, including my own party." pic.twitter.com/Fv6UVuZw3t

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) February 10, 2022

PELOSI'S CURIOUS STOCK TRADES: Sen. Hawley has a new bill to ban members of Congress like Nancy Pelosi from trading individual stocks. Sen. Josh @HawleyMO joins "Hannity" TONIGHT to explain why.

— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) January 27, 2022

House lawmakers call on Pelosi, McCarthy to pass stock trade ban https://t.co/1btKpMlmEt pic.twitter.com/iWYdC6rQ2y

— New York Post (@nypost) January 24, 2022

Perhaps reluctantly, Pelosi has determined that she is not in line with her party or the nation at large.

The backlash to her remarks was swift and severe.

According to a Fortune article in December:

It is not illegal for members of Congress to trade stocks. But Pelosi was responding to a question from Insider, which released an investigation on Monday revealing that 49 members of Congress and 182 congressional staffers were late to disclose personal stock trades, which is a violation of federal conflict-of-interest laws. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, also known as the STOCK Act, was signed into law in 2012 to prevent insider trading among congressional lawmakers and their senior staff, and requires them and their family members to disclose stock sales or purchases within 45 days.

Some lawmakers have openly denounced aspects of stock trading among Congress members. Last week New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the idea of lawmakers trading individual stock “ludicrous.” And Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the “brazenness” of the lawmakers who were caught violating federal disclosure law.

In the following clip, Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters explains why Pelosi’s original position was so deeply flawed.