Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is facing scrutiny for her latest financial investments.
The Republican congresswoman bought tens of thousands of dollars in stock from various high-profile companies just before President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his international tariffs and sent the market soaring.
A recent financial disclosure revealed that Greene bought between $21,000 and $315,000 in stocks from companies like Apple, FedEx, Amazon and Nike on April 8 and 9. At the time, the market was in free fall following Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” speech in which he announced reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries and territories around the world.
On April 9, hours before announcing the three-month pause, Trump posted to his TruthSocial account, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” hinting at a market rebound. The subsequent tariff pause led the S&P 500 to jump 9.5% and the Nasdaq to rise 12.2%, the biggest single-day gains for both in more than 15 years.
In a statement to The Associated Press about her recent stock purchases, Greene said, “I have signed a fiduciary agreement to allow my financial advisor to control my investments. All of my investments are reported with full transparency.”
Members of Congress have up to 45 days to disclose stock purchases, meaning Greene might not be the only one to have taken advantage of the tariff-induced fluctuation.
ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty
Speaking with reporters on April 9, Trump shared his reasoning for announcing the tariff pause.
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line… They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he said.
“We’ve got a big job to do,” the president continued. “No other president would have done what I did… No others. I know the presidents, they wouldn’t have done it.”
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have long tried to ban members of Congress from being able to trade stocks — given the conflict of interest — however it’s so far been unsuccessful.
On March 6, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee proposed the latest version: H.R.1908 – End Congressional Stock Trading Act. The act aims to “prohibit stock trading and ownership by Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children, and for other purposes.”
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Speaking with MSNBC on April 14, Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries revealed that he is on board with banning stock trading.
“So many of these people are crooks, liars and frauds. And Marjorie Taylor Greene is, of course, exhibit A. We are seeing corruption unfold before us in real time,” Jeffries said, adding that Congress should update the law “so that sitting members of Congress cannot trade stock, period. Full stop.”