WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined calls that have lingered for years from some on Capitol Hill to ban sitting members of Congress from trading stocks, saying the U.S. “should be changing the law.” 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined calls that have lingered for years from some on Capitol Hill to ban sitting members of Congress from trading stocks, saying the U.S. “should be changing the law"
  • “Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money on the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” the outgoing president added
  • The interview, which focused on his economic legacy, was recorded last week, after Biden delivered a speech on the topic at the Brookings Institution in Washington as he looks to cement his legacy before leaving office in less than five weeks
  • Efforts to ban members of Congress from trading stocks have floated in limbo for years on Capitol Hill; The issue particularly picked up attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lawmakers sold financial holdings at a time in which they were receiving briefings on the virus

“I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because the job they gave you gave you an inside track to make more money,” Biden said in an interview with Faiz Shakir, a political adviser for progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, for his organization More Perfect Union.

“Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money on the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” the outgoing president added. 

Biden started his answer on the topic mentioning his own background as holding the title of the “poorest man” in Congress for 36 years after Shakir noted the president did not own stock during his time in the Senate. 

The interview, which focused on his economic legacy, was recorded last week, after Biden delivered a speech on the topic at the Brookings Institution in Washington as he looks to cement his legacy before leaving office in less than five weeks. The interview and Biden’s remarks on lawmakers and stock trading was released Tuesday night. 

Efforts to ban members of Congress from trading stocks have floated in limbo for years on Capitol Hill. The issue particularly picked up attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lawmakers sold financial holdings at a time in which they were receiving briefings on the virus. 

Over the summer, a bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a fresh push on the topic, introducing legislation that would ban members of Congress and their immediate family members from buying and selling stocks. The bill has thus far not gone anywhere. Congress will kick off a new session, which will feature Republicans in control of the House and Senate, in just over two weeks. 

In the interview, Biden also asserted that “corporate America got greedy” when asked about products such as clothing and cars being made overseas. 

“What they decided to do was find the cheapest labor in the world, send the product they were going to make to that state, that place, that nation and import the product back,” Biden said. “Not on my watch.” 

The outgoing president often mentions his efforts to bring manufacturing back to America has a significant part of his economic agenda and what he hopes will be his legacy.