Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he had a “good chat” with President Trump on Wednesday, after the president railed against him for supporting a bill that would prohibit lawmakers, future presidents and vice presidents from trading stocks.
Hawley, the Senate bill’s sponsor, was the only Republican to join all Democrats in narrowly voting the Honest Act out of committee.
In an interview Wednesday evening on Fox News, the senator was asked to respond to Trump’s sharp criticism, including his description of Hawley as a “second-tier senator.”
“Well, that’s not the worst thing that’s been said about me even today, Jesse,” Hawley told host Jesse Watters. “So, listen, I had a good chat with the president earlier this evening, and he reiterated to me he wants to see a ban on stock trading by people like Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress, which is what we passed today.”
Hawley’s bill was originally called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act — a nod to the criticism former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has faced amid scrutiny over her husband’s stock trading. The Missouri Republican changed the name in exchange for Democrats’ support.
In the latest iteration of the bill, he also expanded the ban to apply to presidents and vice presidents.
Pelosi signaled her support for Hawley’s legislation Wednesday.
“If legislation is advanced to help restore trust in government and ensure that those in power are held to the highest ethical standards, then I am proud to support it — no matter what they decide to name it,” she said in a statement.
Hawley made clear in the interview that the legislation would still target the kind of stock-trading that Republicans have come to associate with the Pelosis, despite a lack of evidence of their insider trading.
“It is absolutely vital we put a stop to this,” he said. “Pelosi shouldn’t just be investigated, she should be prosecuted. And we need to make what she is doing, and other members of Congress is doing, illegal.”
“You shouldn’t be able to go up to Congress and get rich by trading on information that only you have and not members of the public,” he added. “Right now, lots of members of Congress are getting by with it. We need to make the whole thing illegal.”
Asked why the president called him a “second-tier senator,” Hawley suggested Trump was misinformed about the contents of the bill.
“I think that the president — a number of people who are opposed to banning stock trading, had said to the president that he would be covered by the bill. He’d have to sell Mar-a-Lago and sell assets,” he told Watters. “Not the case at all.”
“The president and the vice president and all their assets are totally exempted,” he added.
The bill’s ban on presidents and vice presidents trading stock would only apply to future administrations.
A White House official declined to comment on the president’s private meetings.
