WASHINGTON, May 26, 2026 — Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., accused President Donald Trump of trading stocks in companies his own administration directly regulates — then using his presidential platform to move those same markets in his favor — calling the practice “blatant corruption” and “abuse of his office.”
“The President has made hundreds of millions of dollars in stock trades this year in companies his own Administration regulates — then he uses his platform to influence the market,” Kelly wrote on X. “It’s blatant corruption.”
“Not only is he trading these stocks, he’s using his platform to promote the same companies that he’s invested in,” Kelly said in a video posted alongside the statement. “It’s blatant corruption, and it’s abuse of his office so he can become richer.”
Regulating and Trading at the Same Time
The disclosures Kelly referenced were filed May 14 with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and show Trump made more than 3,600 individual trades in the first quarter of 2026, collectively worth between $211 million and $687 million — in companies including Nvidia, Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon, Eli Lilly, Axon, Boeing, and Apple.
Several of the trades coincided directly with favorable regulatory decisions by Trump’s own administration. Trump purchased Nvidia stock on January 6 — one week before the Commerce Department approved Nvidia chip sales to China. He purchased Palantir stock while Palantir was negotiating a billion-dollar contract with the Department of Homeland Security. He bought Axon shares before ICE outlined a $220 million Taser contract. He bought Eli Lilly stock as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advanced a program to make Lilly’s GLP-1 obesity drugs available to Medicare patients for $50 a month.
Using the Platform to Move Markets
Kelly’s accusation that Trump uses his platform to move markets in companies he holds is not new — it extends back to April 2025, when Kelly and Senate colleagues called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate possible Trump tariff market manipulation and insider trading. That referral came after Trump posted “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” on Truth Social before announcing a 90-day tariff pause that sent markets surging — generating significant gains for anyone who had purchased stocks before the announcement.
Trump has also publicly promoted specific companies on Truth Social — sometimes including their stock ticker symbols — while holding disclosed positions in those same firms, a practice Kelly directly cited in his Sunday video. “He’s using his platform to promote the same companies that he’s invested in,” Kelly said.
Trump has also been fined $200 — the third time — for disclosing tens of millions in Microsoft and Amazon trades months after the legal 45-day deadline required under federal ethics law.
Kelly’s Credibility on the Issue
Kelly has been among the most consistent voices in Congress on stock trading reform. He does not personally trade individual stocks — placing his assets in qualified blind trusts — and has introduced multiple pieces of legislation to ban the practice for all members of Congress and their families.
In May 2025, Kelly and Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., reintroduced the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, which would require all members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children to place their stocks into a qualified blind trust or divest their holdings. The bill has the support of 86 percent of Americans, including 88 percent of Democrats, 87 percent of Republicans, and 81 percent of independents, according to polling cited in Kelly’s press release.
Kelly also introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act in May 2025, which would ban the president, vice president, senior executive branch officials, members of Congress, and their immediate families from issuing, endorsing, or sponsoring crypto assets. Trump’s crypto assets account for nearly 40 percent of his wealth, with his net worth increasing by $2.9 billion through crypto investments, according to Kelly’s office.
‘Republicans Will Never Hold Him Accountable’
Kelly used his video to directly challenge Republicans, arguing that the only path to accountability runs through the November midterm elections. “The truth is, Republicans in Congress are never going to hold Trump accountable,” Kelly said. “That’s why November is so important. If Democrats can take back the House and the Senate, we can ban members of Congress and the executive branch from trading stocks.”
Kelly framed the stock trading issue as part of a broader pattern of corruption going unaddressed while ordinary Americans struggle with the cost of groceries, housing, and gas. “The level of corruption we see out of Washington, out of this White House, on a daily basis is unprecedented,” he said. “Don’t let this story slide under the rug.”
A Growing Chorus
Kelly’s statement joined a wave of Democratic criticism over Trump’s disclosures. Hillary Clinton called the trades “textbook corruption.” Gov. Gavin Newsom called them “corruption at the highest level — the same kind of corruption Trump said he’d fight against.” Sen. Alex Padilla called Trump “the most corrupt president in our history.” Rep. Melanie Stansbury said the trades “look like potential insider trading” and vowed they “will be investigated.” Rep. Ilhan Omar demanded an immediate ban, calling it unacceptable that “elected officials are getting rich off the backs of the American people while having access to insider information.”
Vice President JD Vance defended the trades at a White House briefing Monday, saying Trump “has independent wealth advisors who manage his money” and is “not sitting on his Robinhood account buying and selling stocks.” The disclosure forms, however, bear Trump’s own signature.
Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and Navy combat pilot who flew 39 combat missions, is the only sitting senator who has placed all of his assets in qualified blind trusts, publicly posts his official Senate schedule, and does not accept corporate PAC contributions.
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