How Trump’s Tariff Spasms Became a Gold Rush in Congress
Plus: Republicans can’t stop saying the quiet part loud.
The 4/9 Gold Rush
We’re starting to get a fuller picture of just how much stock trading took place around when President Donald Trump suddenly reversed his market-ravaging “Liberation Day” tariffs. Members are required to disclose stock sales and purchases within a 45-day window. April 9, when Trump announced his reversal, was 48 days ago.
Initially, the markets soared upon hearing the news that there would be a 90-day pause in tariff hikes (with the exception of China). But in the days that followed, they slumped once more. In that period, many members of Congress bought up investments at lower prices, a prudent move that could result in considerable long-term gains after things rebound. Large purchases can be lucrative in the short term, as well, if the shares were bought quite low, and the rebound happens fast.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who is running for governor to replace the soon-to-be termed-out Ron DeSantis, made four purchases and four sales on April 10, just one day after Trump’s pause announcement. Each transaction was in the $1,001–$15,000 range.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) sold as much as $715,000 in stocks on April 15.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), whom Democrats believe may have engaged in insider trading prior to Trump’s market-bouncing tariff adjustments, made even more purchases this month. On May 5, Greene made 61 purchases in the $1,001–$15,000 range for an overall total that could be as much as $915,000. She then made twenty more1 stock purchases less than two weeks later. The upper limit for the combined value of her stock purchases between these two batches of disclosures comes to $1,285,000.
Among Democrats, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) bought 23 shares during the market low period three days prior to Trump’s April 9 announcement of the tariff “pause,” totalling as much as $345,000. In April overall, he made 35 transactions. Ten were after April 9, while the rest came before. In addition, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Julie Johnson (D-Texas) each made dozens of purchases and sales in early April as the market tumbled. Eleven of Gottheimer’s 118 trades occurred before April 9 and 79 took place on the “pause” day itself. Of Johnson’s 144 trades disclosed, 81 occurred the day before Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, while just six came after the pause announcement on April 9.
A common stock that members of Congress traded since April was UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers. They did this as members began considering major legislation that would have potentially dramatic impacts on the health industry, including the prospect of pushing millions of people off of Medicaid and into the private market.
Greene made two purchases of $UNH, one in the $1,001–$15,000 range and the other in the $15,001–$50,000 range. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)2 sold between $1,001 and $15,000 on April 11. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) bought $1,001–$15,000 in UnitedHealth on April 163; freshman Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) purchased $UNH in the same range on April 10. Boozman’s purchase was accompanied by several others that took place both before and after Trump’s tariff “pause,” while McGuire’s was a lone trade.
Ultimately, the stock market has still not fully recovered from the shock Trump applied to it when he initially announced Liberation Day tariffs on April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed that day at 42,225. The Friday before Memorial Day weekend, it stood at 41,603.
Still, having access to inside information that can crater or catapult markets appears to be extremely lucrative for members of Congress, some of whom outperform the world’s leading hedge funds. While both parties’ leaders in the House have endorsed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and a handful of bills have been introduced to that effect, there seems to be little appetite for taking real action on the issue. I have no idea why.
Let’s just say it moved me… to a bigger house!
David Sacks, the White House crypto czar, made something of a gaffe during an appearance on the “All In” podcast on Saturday, when he seemed to directly undermine the central messaging around the recently passed House Republican budget that aims to slash Medicaid rolls by imposing work requirements. Advocates for the bill insist it is not a “cut.” Sacks embraced the term.
“This bill cuts $880 billion for Medicaid over a decade, which is something that already is politically tough and controversial, and imposes work requirements for able-bodied adults,” Sacks said. “This is similar to what Bill Clinton did back in 1996 with welfare reform, basically saying that you cant be a layabout and get welfare. So these are relatively tough things to do, politically. It’s like, do I want to see even more cuts? Yeah, absolutely.”
Sacks’s comments are similar to those made by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Before Republicans passed the bill last week, Smith appeared on Fox News to make the case for the bill, which at the time had yet to be finalized.
“I would say that SALT is one of those items we have to thread,” Smith said. “And then you can look at Medicaid cuts—Medicaid reforms, I should say—these are all things that were right in the middle. And what we passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday, I believe, is a good balance.”
At least Smith was able to quickly correct himself. Sacks wasn’t as self-aware. Or maybe he just didn’t care.
Old tricks, new dogs
For Thrasher Magazine’s 540th issue, they attempted to teach a handful of professional skaters the 540 McTwist, which is spinning 540 degrees in vert. The trick used to be required learning if you wanted to go pro, but has since become a specialty for only certain kinds of skaters.
Mike McGill, the inventor of the trick, led the instruction along with some other pro skaters. The entire video is simultaneously excruciating and fun to watch.
Lance Mountain, one of the best skaters of the 1980s, quipped that if you can do a backflip on a trampoline, then you can do a 540. McGill immediately disagreed, noting he recently received stitches in his head while attempting a backflip on a diving board.
Either way, it’s very entertaining. Watch the whole video here. And if you can do a 540, let me know in the comments.
Plus the purchase of one Treasury bill between $100,001–$250,000.
Newhouse’s sale was one of more than 50 transactions he reports having done on April 11.
Four of Boozman’s nine transactions occurred on or before April 9.
Thanks for keeping track of how corrupt our lawmakers are on both sides. I'm glad The Bulwark is holding them accountable because literally no one else is.
Trump, Speaker Johnson and other MAGAns have consistently said that the proposed Medicaid work requirements are justified because so many "able-bodied slackers" who could work are just sitting at home collecting Medicaid. Really? How do these people support themselves? All they can do with Medicaid is to get their health care costs paid for. They can't use it to pay rent, buy food or gasoline, or pay for any other daily necessities that are required just to be alive. The argument is idiotic, even to the uninformed and unintelligent, yet its proponents are never challenged on that point.