Politico: Insider trading is Mike Johnson’s next Epstein

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Speaker Mike Johnson’s September to-do list is getting tougher by the day.

As POLITICO scooped Tuesday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is planning to file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on banning stock trading by members of Congress. Like the parallel push for a vote on releasing the Epstein files, it’s poised to pit Johnson against rank-and-file Republicans who are thirsty to challenge elite corruption — whether their leadership likes it or not.

Luna’s move puts Johnson in a bind.

Johnson has signaled that he’s personally supportive of restricting stock trading by lawmakers. But allowing a vote to happen would trigger backlash from many fellow Republicans — and for what? The bill probably wouldn’t go anywhere in the Senate.

Yet if Johnson stands in the way, he risks fueling a narrative triggered by the Epstein fight that he’s protecting the rich and powerful and against transparency.

Luna has a way to go before she gets the 218 signatures needed to force a vote. But she has some political momentum on her side. The House Ethics Committee said Friday that Rep. Mike Kelly’s (R-Pa.) wife bought shares in steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs after Kelly’s office learned that a Commerce Department action could benefit the company. Kelly has said he and his family “look forward to putting this distraction behind us.”

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Rep. Seth Magaziner, the Rhode Island Democrat co-leading legislation with Roy, said he believes they are “quite close” on a consensus bill coming together — possibly in August. But it would be for “Congress only,” and not extend any stock trading ban to the president and vice president, as some Democrats are pushing for.

Lawmakers involved in the talks are also aiming for legislative branch enforcement, which is missing from the Burchett bill that relies on Justice Department enforcement. Burchett’s legislation also doesn’t address when lawmakers who currently own stocks would have to pay taxes after divesting.

“Where you’ll start losing Democrats is if the bill doesn’t have teeth,” said Magaziner, who argues that the Burchett bill alone will have problems drawing enough support from both sides of the aisle.

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