Gaetz on cosponsoring lawmaker stock trade bill: Ocasio-Cortez is ‘wrong a lot’ but ‘not corrupt’

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that he is working alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on legislation barring stock trading among members of Congress because, despite their disagreements, the congresswoman is “not corrupt.”

“AOC is wrong a lot. She’d probably say the same thing about me,” Gaetz told Fox News. “But she’s not corrupt. And I will work with anyone and everyone to ensure that Congress is not so compromised.”

“We should disallow congressional stock trading for the same reason we don’t allow the referee to bet on the game,” he added.

The unlikely pairing joined forces with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) to introduce legislation Tuesday to block members of Congress, their spouses and their dependents from engaging in stock trading.

“The ability to individually trade stock erodes the public’s trust in government,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement Tuesday. “When Members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it. It’s really that simple.” 

The push to ban congressional stock trading has garnered attention amid several high-profile incidents in recent years, with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) facing scrutiny over her husband’s trades and former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) facing a probe over his pandemic trading activities.

However, similar legislative efforts have failed to progress.