Kelly, Senate Colleagues Call on SEC to Investigate Possible Trump Tariff Market Manipulation, Insider Trading

“It is unconscionable that as American families are concerned about their financial security during this economic crisis entirely manufactured by the President, insiders may have actively profited from the market volatility and potentially perpetrated financial fraud on the American public.”

Today, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, to determine whether President Trump, any members of his cabinet, or other donors, insiders, and administration officials engaged in insider trading, market manipulation, or other securities laws violations.  

“We urge the SEC to investigate whether the tariff announcements, which caused the market crash and subsequent partial recovery, enriched administration insiders and friends at the expense of the American public and whether any insiders, including the President’s family, had prior knowledge of the tariff pause that they abused to make stock trades ahead of the President’s announcement,” called the senators.  

The senators wrote: “Before pausing the tariffs that threw markets into disarray, President Trump appears to have previewed his plans to do so on Truth Social: at 9:37 am, he announced, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” His official announcement of the tariff pause came roughly 4 hours later at 1:18 pm.” 

The senators also asked how Trump administration cuts to the SEC might impact the agency’s ability to respond to large-scale market events and pursue enforcement actions. They requested answers to their questions by April 25, 2025. 

Banning insider stock trading has been a priority for Kelly since he became a senator. In 2023, he introduced the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act to require all members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children to place their stocks into a blind trust or divest the holding—ensuring they cannot use inside information to influence their stock trades and make a profit. 

Click here to read the full letter.