As a bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and options makes its way through Congress, new financial disclosures from a senator could show why the public has grown tired of elected officials being able to profit from trading.
What Happened: New financial disclosures from Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) show the lawmaker making multiple stock purchases back in January 2023 and waiting until July 2025 to disclose the transactions, as reported by Benzinga's Government Trades page.
Benzinga reached out to Mullin's offices in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C., about the trades and did not hear back at the time of publication.
The transactions were made on Jan. 3, 2023 and disclosed on July 30, 2025. Each stock purchase was for a value of $1,000 to $15,000, and it is unclear if Mullin still owns any of the positions.
Below is a breakdown of each stock purchase, showing the trading range on January 3, 203, the current share price, and the return calculated from the high price on the purchase date.
- Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD): $282.77 to $300.00, $285.37 now, -5.1%
- Instructure Holdings (was INST, taken private in 2024): $24.48 to $26.32, private at $23.60, -10.3%
- Hubbell Inc (NYSE:HUBB): $232.01 to $237.53, $424.41 now, +78.7%
- Fabrinet (NYSE:FN): $129.12 to $133.53, $313.13 now, +134.5%
- EXLService Holdings (NASDAQ:EXLS): $34.09 to $34.75, $42.38 now, +22.0%
- Corteva (NYSE:CTVA): $58.30 to $59.12, $71.03 now, +20.1%
- Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ:CELH): $32.38 to $35.50, $44.79 now, +26.2%
As you can see most of the stocks are down or up around 20% after two and a half years. However, two of the stocks have decent size gains, including Fabrinet, up 134.5% since the time of Mullin's purchase.
What makes the transactions stand out is the delay in filing the disclosures. The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to disclose stock and option purchases and sales within 45 days. Obviously, the two-and-a-half-year period falls well outside the 45 days.
Current rules show that Mullin will be fined $200 to $500 for violating the STOCK Act, a small price to pay for not following the rules.
"We just caught new STOCK Act violations by Senator Markwayne Mullin. He disclosed trades that were made over two years ago," Quiver Quant tweeted.
Quiver Quant also shows the date of purchase as Jan. 3, 2023, and the disclosure being made on July 30, 2025.
Mullin is an ally of President Donald Trump and a frequent guest on political news programs.
Did You Know?
- Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold With Our Easy-to-Use Tool
Why It's Important: Mullin's trading activity has been flagged before by Benzinga and elsewhere. Earlier this year, Mullin disclosed buying stock in L3 Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX), a defense company. The transaction comes with Mullin serving on the Committee on Armed Services, which could provide him with inside information about government defense purchases.
A report from Newsweek previously accused Mullin of violating the STOCK Act and making questionable trades related to another committee assignment.
Mullin's disclosures come after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act, or PELOSI Act, based on the first letter of each of the main words. The name targets Congresswoman and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The bill made its way out of committee and could come before Congress for a vote.
Benzinga recently polled readers to see where they stand on a potential ban on Congress trading.
"Should members of Congress be allowed to buy and sell stocks, options and ETFs?" Benzinga asked.
These were the results:
- They should not be allowed to trade stocks, options or ETFs: 43%
- They should be allowed to trade as long as they report within 24 hours: 24%
- They should only be allowed to trade ETFs and mutual funds: 14%
- They should be allowed to trade as long as they report in 45 days: 11%
- They should only be allowed to trade stocks: 8%
The poll found that 43% of readers support an outright ban on members of Congress trading stocks, options, or ETFs. Eleven percent voted to leave the current rules unchanged, with a 45-day disclosure window.
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