Overview

• A University of California San Diego–The Hill survey shows 86% of voters in both parties support banning members of Congress, spouses and dependents from trading individual stocks.
• The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Sen. Josh Hawley’s divestment bill by an 8–7 vote, with Hawley the sole Republican yes and Sen. Rick Scott leading opposition over exemptions.
• GOP divisions over carve-outs for the president and vice president and over blind trust provisions have complicated the measure’s path to a full Senate debate.
• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna plans to file a discharge petition to force a House vote on HR 1908, a narrower companion bill that would exempt the president, when lawmakers return from the August recess.
• An Orlando Sentinel editorial cited extensive polling and recent ethics admonishments to insist that only an outright ban on individual stock trades can eliminate conflicts of interest and restore public trust.