Exclusive: Senator's Stock Trade Raises 'Conflict of Interest' Concerns

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Dec 02, 2024 at 9:31 AM EST


Senator Markwayne Mullin has bought shares in an education company, sparking conflict of interest concerns about possible intersections with his legislative committee work, Newsweek reveals. Since February 2023, Mullin has sat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which provides special scrutiny to and makes legislative recommendations about education issues to the Senate.

According to Senate financial disclosures seen by Newsweek, in July 2024, Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, bought stock valued between $1,001 and $15,000 in Stride, Inc., a company that provides online private schools across the U.S. The trade was disclosed in November 2024 and the exact value of the shares were not made public.

Stride, Inc has received $405,000 in federal contracts since 2020, Newsweek analysis of transparency data show. Ethics and finance experts told Newsweek that Mullin's trade was controversial because of his congressional work.

Congressional stock trading is permitted but the practice has attracted bipartisan criticism because of concerns it may facilitate insider trading, if lawmakers are privy to information about assets that could move markets. There are also concerns politicians with stock holdings can influence the assets they hold to inflate their share value.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/congress-stock-trading-mullin-1993427

[jimfields33]

1. They need to seriously ban stock trades for all in

Congress and family members. It’s strange how they all end up millionaires from a 174K job.

[BadgerKid]

4. And what about equity options?

[pandr32]

2. Portfolios should be converted to cash positions.

At least for the duration of serving.

[oldguy_tls]

3. Public Officials and Blind Trusts

I have long proposed that all public officials who are full-time elected offices be required to place all of their assets excluding their primary home into a blind trust until they leave office. This would help create at least the image that they are not self-dealing or making policy decisions to benefit their own holdings. Business owners must give up control of their businesses to that blind trust trustee and be prepared to defend any policy they support that has the appearance of benefiting their business.

Since these trusts cost money to run, I believe they should be paid by us, the taxpayers, since we now have at least the appearance of impartiality in the decisions of these officials.

[republianmushroom]

5. "Raises 'Conflict of Interest' Concerns", not with a republican, just doing business

as usual. Ethic's ? Not now, dude.