‘A huge problem’: Trump has traded more stocks than all of Congress combined. A Bush-era ethics lawyer explains why you should worry

President Donald Trump has made more securities trades than every member of Congress combined, according to a Bloomberg analysis. In the past 17 months, Trump has made approximately 28,700 trades, averaging around 80 trades per market day. This behavior is new, as his first term involved mainly real estate and privately held business disclosures.

Since May, Trump's filings have revealed over 21,000 trades in 2025, worth between $600 million and $1.86 billion, at an average of 85 trades per market day. Trump holds eight separate investment accounts, but there is no indication of the institutions managing them. Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, expressed concern over Trump's stock trading.

Painter argues that a ban on such activities should apply to Trump, as current law prohibits executive branch officials from trading in stocks. Despite Trump's endorsement of a ban for Congress members, spouses, and dependent children, he has opposed extending the restriction to himself and the vice president. Critics, like Painter, argue that Trump's stock portfolio could provide financial benefits if certain events occur, such as an oil price increase or an escalation of the Iran conflict.