Biden comes out in support of ban on congressional stock trading

President Biden has thrown his endorsement behind a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.

“I think we should be changing the law,” Mr. Biden said in an interview published Tuesday. “Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they’re in the Congress.”

He expressed the newfound support for the ban in the interview with Faiz Shakir, a political adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent. The interview was published by A More Perfect Union, a pro-labor advocacy and journalism organization.

Mr. Biden had previously declined to take a position on congressional stock trading. When Jen Psaki served as White House press secretary two years ago, she said Biden would “let members of leadership in Congress and members of Congress determine what the rules should be.”

It’s unclear what prompted Mr. Biden to comment on the issue now that he is a lame-duck president or if his endorsement will have any impact on lawmakers’ support for a ban.

A bipartisan group of senators pushed for a ban on stock trading in July for members of Congress and their families. It has not received a vote yet.

Currently, the law requires lawmakers to disclose when they trade stocks exceeding $1,000, but some have said the rule is poorly enforced.

Congressional stock trading has been a catalyst for populist anger in Washington.

For example, when the coronavirus pandemic was approaching, some lawmakers bought and sold millions of dollars worth of stock after being briefed on the virus.

A bipartisan proposal to ban trading by members of Congress and their families has dozens of sponsors, but it has not received a vote.

Although lawmakers are required to disclose stock transactions exceeding $1,000, they’re routinely late in filing notices and sometimes don’t file them at all.

In the interview, Mr. Shakir noted that Mr. Biden did not own any stock when he was a senator.

Mr. Biden said that he was “listed as the poorest man” in Congress.

“I never thought I was poor. I had a salary that a senator made,” he said. “I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because [of] the job they gave you, gave you the inside track to make more money.”

“I think we should be changing the law,” Mr. Biden said.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.