Independents can bust Washington’s corruption racket

Washington has managed to turn an overwhelmingly popular idea — banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks — into another partisan brawl.In a poll released in September, the Independent Center found that 88% of voters backed a ban, including 88% of Republicans, 89% of Democrats, and 86% of independents. Yet Congress still hasn’t made it law. On an issue that unites voters, the two parties have found another reason to fight.Make congressional stock trading a test. Will candidates ban lawmakers and their families from trading stocks, including existing holdings? Will they reject poison pills? Get their answers. Vote accordingly.Americans are sick of it. A Fox News poll conducted October 9-12 found that 88% of registered voters were extremely or very concerned about government corruption, ahead of inflation and high prices at 85%, gas prices at 83%, and health care at 80%.The Independent Center's October survey of 1,200 adults, including 1,000 registered voters, helps explain the anger. Six in 10 said groceries had put the most pressure on their household budgets. Fifty-four percent said the economy was rigged for big companies and the politically connected; only 34% said it worked like a real free market. More than half said Washington was not listening.Politicians insist they share that frustration. Their tolerance for corruption, however, often depends on whose name is attached to it.Republicans have a fresh example. On October 13, Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as ambassador to Greece after the White House asked her to leave. Trump donor Eric Deters accused her of seeking $100,000 to pay a personal credit card bill before her confirmation hearing, allegedly in return for access to administration officials. He says he never paid her. Guilfoyle denies wrongdoing and disputes the authenticity of the messages cited in reporting on the allegation.Democrats have their own scandals. Former Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a bribery case involving cash, gold bars, and a luxury car. Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned in April after facing ethics proceedings and federal charges alleging that she and others diverted a $5 million FEMA overpayment, including money routed toward her campaign. She has pleaded not guilty.Both parties are adept at spotting corruption across the aisle. When the accusation lands at home, too many partisans reach for the words “witch hunt.”Congressional stock trading offers a simpler test. `Members can buy and sell individual stocks while receiving briefings and writing laws that affect the companies they invest in. The 2012 STOCK Act requires disclosure of trades and prohibits trading on nonpublic information. It does not bar members from owning or trading individual stocks.RELATED: ‘Cold civil war’ about to heat up? DataRepublican exposes evidence of color revolution plot Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty ImagesRepublican Chip Roy (Texas) and Democrat Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) have championed a bipartisan proposal to ban congressional stock trading, including by lawmakers' spouses and dependent children. But the legislation that actually passed the House in July was narrower. The Stop Insider Trading Act, approved 232-198, would bar new purchases while allowing members to retain existing holdings. Republicans also attached voter ID requirements unrelated to stock trading.Democrats called the package inadequate and objected to the election provisions. In September, the Senate voted 53-47 to advance it, short of the 60 votes needed. Rival proposals, familiar accusations, and procedural maneuvers have left the public with the same result: No comprehensive trading ban is law.The people who set the rules cannot agree to limit their own opportunities for profit, even when voters from both parties overwhelmingly want them to. That is a failure of political will, not a shortage of legislative ideas.Independents can change the calculation. We have no party organization to defend and no reason to excuse misconduct because the offender happens to wear the right jersey. The standard should be the same whether the politician is a Democrat or a Republican.RELATED: Kamala’s voter-roll freakout hits blue states hard Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAnd we have the numbers to make that standard count. Gallup found that 45% of Americans identified as independents in 2025, more than identified with either major party. In close races, candidates cannot afford to dismiss voters whose support they have not earned.So make congressional stock trading a test. Ask every candidate in your district whether they will ban lawmakers, spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks. Ask whether the ban would cover existing holdings and whether they would accept unrelated riders designed to sink it. Write down the answers. Vote accordingly.The two parties have had years to deliver a reform voters agree on. If they refuse, independents can make that refusal costly — or replace the politicians responsible.