In Washington, timing is particularly cruel, and the week of May 14 brought it almost exactly on time. Exactly one year to the day after Speaker Mike Johnson made those remarks, a video of him defending congressional stock trading went viral. The same afternoon, documents discreetly made public by the Office of Government Ethics revealed that President Trump had completed over 3,600 stock transactions in the first quarter alone, totaling between $220 million and $750 million. That overlap was not intended. However, as I watched it land, I couldn’t help but think that the universe sometimes makes ironic edits.
The actual video is brief—less than a minute. Johnson presents a compassionate argument by speaking cautiously, just like attorneys do. He claims that qualified individuals are being turned away from Congress by frozen pay. Members maintain two residences on a number that hasn’t changed since 2009, one in the district and one in a city with exorbitant rent. The counterargument, he says, is to “at least let them engage in some stock trading, so that they can continue to take care of their family.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he says that “on balance” he probably favors a ban anyhow because a few bad actors tarnish it for everyone.
As is often the case with these kinds of things, that subtlety was lost as soon as it went online. The part about sympathy made it through. It’s important to note that the salary figures—$174,000 for rank-and-file members and $223,500 for Johnson himself—are real and remained constant for sixteen years despite rising expenses. On paper, that is about a 30% pay reduction after inflation. The struggle, though, is harder to locate. Before the federal health insurance, the five-year pension, the Thrift Savings match, and the travel allowances pile on top, a lawmaker with a base salary of $174,000 is comfortably in the top 10% of American earners. Reading the comment sections gives the impression that voters completed this calculation right away.
It’s not Johnson’s numbers that are causing the rage. Since 1987, the Pelosi household has reportedly returned about 16,930%. With a 74.5% win rate over 216 trades last year, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s portfolio has increased 476% since 2021. She has since announced her departure in January. Even Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been direct: any private individual trading in this manner would have the SEC at their door, and every hedge fund would be envious of these returns. It’s a startling statement made by an official in the administration.
And then there are Trump’s own filings: Dell positions opened weeks before a public White House endorsement, and Nvidia was purchased a week before Commerce authorized chip sales to China. According to the White House, his children are in charge of the trust. Perhaps. Here, the appearance—which Johnson himself advised Congress to steer clear of—is playing a major role.
The bill is the more subdued tale. There is a Restore Trust in Congress Act. For months, a discharge petition to move it forward has only received 82 signatures; 136 more are required. Johnson publicly stated that he would support a ban on balance. The device that would deliver one is trapped in his home. Whether anything moves it is still unknown. As you watch this play out, it seems like everyone is waiting because they already know how it will end.
