Members of Congress will decide whether they are allowed to trade stocks, due to the scrutiny of lawmakers financial trades, according to Jen Psaki, White House press secretary.
Psaki was asked if the president believes that Congress and their spouses shouldn't be allowed to trade stock during the White House press briefing Tuesday.
Biden is not allowed to trade stocks while serving as president.
The president didn't trade individual stocks when he was senator, Psaki said. That is how we approach things. We believe that everyone should be held to the highest standard. She added that he ll let members of Congress and members of Congress decide what rules should be. The questions come as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for saying members of Congress and their spouses should be allowed to trade stock as part of a free market economy. Two bills that would ban stock trading by members of Congress and their spouses were introduced in the Senate last week. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., introduced different versions of the same legislation.
In Hawley's version, Ossoff's version is called the Lawmakers' spouses are currently allowed to trade in companies or industries that their partner may help regulate. Under the STOCK Act, which was passed in 2012, members of Congress and their families are forbidden from profiting from inside information, and lawmakers are required to report stock trades to Congress within 45 days.
The push to ban Congress from trading stock has been met with bipartisan support in both chambers. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.