Overview

• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has pledged to file a discharge petition in early September to force a vote on banning members of Congress, their spouses and dependents from trading or owning individual stocks
• Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are expected to reach the 218-signature threshold on a separate petition to compel release of Justice Department documents related to Jeffrey Epstein
• Discharge petitions allow rank-and-file members to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson’s control over the floor but require a majority of House members and a seven-legislative-day waiting period
• A bipartisan group working on a consensus stock-trading ban has cautioned that Luna’s unilateral move could undercut negotiated legislation, and Speaker Johnson has discouraged the tactic
• Even if both measures pass the House, they face a 60-vote hurdle in the Senate and competing political dynamics that could prevent final enactment