EXETER, New Hampshire — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) threw his support behind a federal stock trading ban on Saturday, telling the Washington Examiner he believes restrictions should apply to the executive branch and the president.
“100%, yeah, 100%,” Newsom said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, where he is test-driving a 2028 run in one of the earliest presidential primary states. “I mean, it’s obscene and absurd. In prediction markets as well.”
Newsom’s comments are at odds with Republicans’ preferred stock trading legislation on Capitol Hill. The House passed a bill preventing lawmakers and their families from purchasing new publicly traded stocks, but it notably does not apply to the White House at a time when President Donald Trump has been accused of abusing his office to enrich himself.
Trump has made almost 30,000 trades since returning to the White House last year. His cryptocurrency investments have also become a flashpoint on Capitol Hill and derailed an industry-friendly bill earlier this year over Democratic ethics concerns.
“I mean — come on, this self-dealing, the grift and graft,” Newsom said. “It extends not just in the White House — and that’s not to cast aspersions on people that are doing a few trades here and there, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that these are some of the smartest stock pickers in America, and that maybe that’s not just coincidence. Maybe it’s just a little bit of knowledge that the rest of us aren’t always afforded.”
The Trump Organization has denied any wrongdoing and maintains all trades are managed by outside wealth advisers with no input from the president or his family. The White House insists Trump “only acts in the best interests of the American public.”
In Congress, the Stop Insider Trading Act passed the House on a largely party-line vote in July after Republicans added separate voter ID language to the bill. In the Senate, it failed to clear the filibuster last month.
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Stock scandals have ensnared politicians on both sides of the aisle over the years, from the insider trading allegations against the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to freshman members such as Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA).
Newsom madę the remarks as he travels through New Hampshire on behalf of Democrats running for state and congressional offices in November. Newsom will finish the day in Manchester, where he will appear with House candidate Stefany Shaheen.