Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate potential insider trading by President Donald Trump and his administration. This comes after Trump posted on social media encouraging investors to buy stocks, just hours before announcing a pause on tariffs that caused the stock market to soar. On Wednesday morning, Trump posted in all caps on his Truth Social platform: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Later that day, he announced that most of his harshest tariffs on other countries would be paused.
The Dow closed up almost 3,000 points, meaning investors who followed Trump’s advice could have made significant profits. Sens. Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego sent a letter to the White House requesting “an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions, informed by advanced knowledge” of the tariff policy changes.
Warren also questioned if this was “corruption in plain sight.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai denied any wrongdoing, stating that Trump’s post was meant to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security. However, ethics experts like Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, criticized the president’s actions as potentially problematic.
Warren urges SEC to investigate
Painter noted that public officials talking about stock prices while making decisions that impact those prices could be an issue. He pointed out that financial conflicts of interest have been a recurring problem for Trump since his 2016 election.
Despite calls for investigations, significant action seems unlikely with Republicans controlling Congress and a Trump nominee leading the SEC. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. The timing and specifics of Trump’s social media post have raised suspicions.
His post included the initials “DJT,” which is also the stock symbol for Trump Media and Technology Group, leading to questions about whether he was advising people to buy stocks in general or his own company’s stock specifically. Trump Media stock surged over 22% that day. Government ethics law expert Kathleen Clark stated that in other administrations, Trump’s actions would likely have triggered an investigation.
She believes he is sending a message that he can manipulate the market with impunity. Senator Warren is urging a thorough review of all securities trades by Federal Reserve officials, including those under the Trump administration, to determine if any insider trading laws were violated and ensure transparency and accountability.
