WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are questioning whether President Donald Trump and his allies may have improperly acted on his suggestion Wednesday that it was a “great time to buy” stocks shortly before announcing he was cutting back on some of his new tariffs — a move that made the markets go up.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Thursday that Democrats "need to get to the bottom of the possible stock manipulation that is unfolding before the American people, including what if any advanced knowledge did members of the House Republican Conference have of Trump’s decision to pause the reckless tariffs that he put into place?"
"There are several members of Congress who will be aggressively demanding answers and transparency, particularly as it relates to the stock purchase decisions that may have occurred over the last few days," Jeffries told reporters when asked if he believes lawmakers may have done something illegal or violated ethics laws.
Soon after the stock market opened at 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT" A few hours later, around 1:30 p.m., he announced that he was lowering the tariff amount on most countries, except China, to a baseline of 10%.
The announcement immediately sent stocks soaring, with the Nasdaq index climbing nearly 12%, the S&P 500 climbing 9.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 8%.
The White House denied that Trump was engaging in market manipulation and accused Democrats of "playing partisan games."
“It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. "Democrats railed against China’s cheating for decades, and now they’re playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump’s decisive action yesterday to finally corner China.”
There is no evidence that Trump was trying to manipulate markets or that he — or any of his advisers and allies — acted on inside information. But the timing of the posts has led to calls for scrutiny.
A group of 19 House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins requesting an investigation into possible insider trading and market manipulation violations surrounding the tariffs announcement. NBC News obtained the letter in advance.
"Given the uncertainty of when the President privately decided to pause the tariffs, and the fact he convened several meetings during that timeframe (including with Members of Congress), there is an open question as to who had access to this material, nonpublic, and market-moving information," reads the letter, which was also sent to Deborah Jeffrey, the SEC's inspector general and Gene Dodaro, the head of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.
Jessica Baxter, a GAO spokesperson, confirmed the office received the letter and was processing the request. Representatives for the SEC did not return requests for comment.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., argued that Trump’s Truth Social post was “at least enough smoke” for an investigation, but told reporters she thinks it should be from an independent entity, “not by Democrats or Republicans.”
“I think we need a full independent investigation into who was trading, who made money, who knew what, and when they knew it,” Warren said.
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Thursday, requesting answers to a series of questions related to whether Trump, his family or any member of his administration took part in "insider trading or illegal financial transactions" related to the tariff announcements.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who co-sponsored legislation this year to ban members of Congress from owning or trading stocks, told reporters that “anybody who traded in the last 48 hours and made an incredible amount of money prior to this tariff announcement, who sits right there in that House, needs to answer for it.”
In a post on X, Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday noted that members of Congress have until May 15 to submit their financial disclosure reports. "Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now," she said.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, defended the president and shot down any allegations of market manipulation or insider trading, telling NBC News on Thursday, “They miss no opportunity to take a dig at President Trump … any idea of insider trading is ridiculous.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also appeared to poke fun at the allegations while speaking to reporters.
"I think today would be a great day to buy stocks," he said.
