Number ‘One' Yet Again : Trump Has Made More Stock Trades This Year Than All 535 Members of Congress Combined
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A new 2026 financial filing shows that Trump has made nearly 30,000 stock trades since he has returned to office.
Donald Trump is truly number one again, albeit this time in what appears to be gallingly corrupt stock trading while holding the most powerful public office in the country.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, the president’s financial disclosures show nearly 28,700 stock trades between his January 2025 inauguration and June 2026, roughly 80 per trading day. That is somehow more stock trades than all 535 corrupt members of Congress combined, whose reported transactions totaled a staggering 22,300 over the same period.
According to reporting from independent news outlet Truthout, House lawmakers reported 19,400 stock trades during that period, while senators reported another 2,900, bringing the total to 22,300. A handful of lawmakers accounted for much of that activity, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) alone reporting roughly 8,000 transactions.
Why this news matters
This story serves as another example of how Trump's interest in the office of the presidency is more routinely expressed in his Truth Social posts and personal enrichment than it is any meaningful, sensible policy work.
And it’s not just us who think so. A September Gallup poll captures just how little faith in our government leaders remains, with 89% percent of U.S. adults say government corruption is widespread — the highest share since tracking began in 2006, with overwhelming majorities across party lines agreeing.
When Trump does turn his attention to policy, such as tariffs, he refuses to let it go no matter how disastrous due to his pathological inability to admit to fault, a pathology that is now dragging the entire world into utter disaster via the War with Iran, a buffoonish, deadly declining imperial escapade.
It shines light on the lengths to which what should be financial crime and power are intimately intermingled in U.S. politics, to the extent that efforts to hide it feel lazy at best. It's essentially all out in the open, which speaks to the late stage of institutional decay we collectively find ourselves in — a precursor to outright civic collapse.
Take Action
So, what can we do?
Follow the money, support public accountability and press lawmakers to end financial conflicts of interest.
Start here
Know whose interests your candidates serve.
Alongside mass civil action to remove money from politics, including efforts to overturn Citizens United, voters should pay careful attention to a candidate’s financial activities, business interests, partnerships and previous disclosures. These records can reveal conflicts between their private interests and the people they seek to represent.
The working class can no longer afford to take promises of public service at face value. Follow the financial ties, compare them with a candidate’s record and ask whose interests their decisions serve.
Support these organizations
Help sustain independent scrutiny.
Explore these organizations’ work on government ethics, money in politics and transparency, and look for ways to donate, participate in campaigns or volunteer where opportunities are available.
Follow the money
Keep an eye on your representatives.
Use independent reporting and financial disclosure tools to examine lawmakers’ financial activity and identify questions worth bringing to their offices.
Push for reform
Ask lawmakers to put their support on the record.
There are two related proposals that offer a starting point for demanding restrictions on congressional stock ownership and trading:
House proposal
Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) introduced the Restore Trust in Congress Act (H.R. 5106). CREW and other watchdog groups backed the bill in a November 2025 coalition letter calling for a comprehensive, enforceable ban covering lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children.
Read the coalition’s letter (PDF)Senate companion
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and Ashley Moody (R-Florida) introduced companion legislation in January 2026 to prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks and certain other assets, with limited exceptions including diversified funds.
Read the Senate proposal overview