Congressional salary increase: Speaker Mike Johnson says Congressman is peanut salary and needs to trade stocks to support his family
Johnson explained that Congress has not increased since 2009. He added that after adjusting for inflation, members paid 31% less than in 2009.
He warned that if he did so, “less qualified people” would want to run for Congress because it was a huge sacrifice and there was not enough money.
“At least make them enjoy doing some stock trading so they can continue to take care of their families,” Johnson said.
This is when MPs are paying close attention to stock trading again. The reason is that Donald Trump announced high tariffs on global trading partners.
These tariffs later changed and the stock market responded strongly to the changes. It was noted that on April 9, minutes before Trump stopped tariffs in some countries, strange trade activities on the Nasdaq call, such as Senator Adam Schiff (D-MA) and Rep. Alexander Ocasio Cortez (D-MA), demanded an investigation into possible internal transactions. “We’re going to learn something” because members of Congress must submit their financial disclosures by May 15,” Ocasio-Cortez said on social media.
A website called Capitol Trade, which tracks what members of Congress are trading, found some surprising information.
For example, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), who wants to ban Congressional stock trading, has traded more than $5.6 million since his election in November.
Johnson also said people need to make “reasonable decisions” with their families, namely whether they are capable of living in Washington and their hometown and fulfilling everything they need to work.
FAQ
Q1. What does Mike Johnson say about Congress’ salary?
He said they have not increased since 2009 and are now worth less.
Q2. Why are people talking about insider trading in Congress now?
Some stocks moved ahead of the news about the tariffs.
