US lawmakers continue to make insider-like market moves as the STOCK Act await approval

While the STOCK Act slowly moves through the legislative process, US lawmakers continue to make market moves that look like the kind of insider trading the legislation was meant to prevent. 

The latest offender, Rep. Brandon Gill, a big fan of President Donald Trump, has reportedly violated a federal financial law by improperly disclosing about half a million dollars in Bitcoin purchases.

According to a signed disclosure he submitted to the House of Representatives, Gill bought Bitcoin of between $100,001 and $250,000 on January 29 and February 27. However, he did not reveal both trades until weeks after a 45-day disclosure deadline mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.

BREAKING: We just found more STOCK Act violations.

Representative Brandon Gill just filed purchases of up to $850K of Bitcoin.

Some of the trades were made over 100 days ago. The reporting deadline is 45 days.

Gill sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform pic.twitter.com/CI01ct2ozM

— Quiver Quantitative (@QuiverQuant) June 2, 2025

Gill made Bitcoin purchases just before Trump’s crypto bills

The STOCK Act was put in place to prevent insider trading and conflicts of interest among members of Congress. So when Gill made his January 29 Bitcoin purchase the week after Trump signed an executive order to “establish United States leadership in digital and financial technology,” it raised eyebrows.

The lawmaker’s February 27 purchase also falls under similar circumstances, as it came a week before Trump announced the creation of a “strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile” to make the United States “a leader among nations in government digital asset strategy.”

Gill has also disclosed making two additional Bitcoin purchases last month with the first happening on May 13 valued at between $100,001 and $250,000 and another on May 18 valued at between $50,001 and $100,000.

In both cases, which Gill disclosed before the 45-day federal deadline, Bitcoin’s value was slightly below its current price. So far, Gill has filed for purchases of up to $850k BTC, and he is not the only Congress member accused of ethically questionable stock trading.

Congress are pushing the boundaries of the STOCK Act

Gill’s Bitcoin purchases put him in the league of Congress members like Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) and Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), who have been fingered in violating the STOCK Act this decade.

Others like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Jefferson Shreve (R-Ind.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), reportedly made a flurry of stock trades immediately before or after Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements that roiled stock indices.

Meanwhile, at least two members of Congress — Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) and Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) — have confirmed they are no longer trading individual stocks in a bid to avoid real or perceived financial conflicts of interest.

Now, there is a bipartisan coalition of federal lawmakers — made up of some on the far-right and far-left — who are supporting legislation that would ban members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks and cryptocurrency outright.

Trump also seems to be on the same side as these lawmakers. This year, he even said he would “sign a bill.” Talk of banning Congress members from trading has become a hot topic, especially since the tariff announcement, and the subject has overwhelming public support as well.

It remains to be seen if such legislation will pass, as some Congress members see their ability to trade as a perk. However, there is no doubt that the trading embargo is under serious consideration.

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