President Donald Trump took aim at Missouri Republican Josh Hawley Wednesday after the senator became the lone GOP supporter of a bill banning stock trading among lawmakers.
The proposed legislation ― known as the HONEST Act, which stands for the Halting Ownership of Non-Ethical Securities and Trusts ― would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading or holding individual stocks, and was recently modified to include future presidents and vice presidents.
While the ban would go into effect for most elected officials immediately, neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance would be required to divest their holdings for the remainder of their terms. However, that didn’t stop Trump from railing against Hawley on his Truth Social platform, calling him a “a second-tier Senator” and “a pawn” for Democrats.
“The Democrats, because of our tremendous ACHIEVEMENTS and SUCCESS, have been trying to ‘Target’ me for a long period of time, and they’re using Josh Hawley, who I got elected TWICE, as a pawn to help them,” Trump wrote. “I wonder why Hawley would pass a Bill that Nancy Pelosi is in absolute love with — He is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats. It’s a great Bill for her, and her ‘husband,’ but so bad for our Country!”
