Congress
DeSantis: Florida should require congressional candidates to answer about stock trades
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the state to take steps to discourage members of Congress from trading stocks, a topic that has seemingly divided Florida’s Hill delegation ahead of a potential vote in the House.
DeSantis, during an event in Clearwater with GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, gave his full backing to Luna’s proposed ban on individual stock trading for members. But he also said he is seeking state legislation to require people running for Congress in Florida to disclose ahead of time whether they intend to trade stocks if they are elected.
During his press conference, DeSantis called individual stock trading a “bipartisan ailment,” adding, “We need to clean both houses up there.” He said members have either gotten windfalls — or avoided major losses — that defy normal investment patterns.
In a social media post, he added that “it is a farce how some members of Congress — including but not limited to Nancy Pelosi — suddenly become Warren Buffet on steroids when it comes to investment returns.”
DeSantis acknowledged the state has limited authority to place restrictions on Florida’s congressional delegation. But he wants to require candidates to answer a question about stock trading on forms that are submitted at the time they qualify for the ballot.
He said that would at least let voters know ahead of time what plan they to do. The governor added that such a requirement wouldn’t really work for state legislators because they are only on the job part-time and many work in the financial sector.
DeSantis also called on Florida’s congressional delegation to vote for Luna’s bill. Several Florida members signed on to a discharge petition, but it’s not clear if all 28 will ultimately support the legislation.
Luna said she’s spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson and she anticipates that her bill will be taken up during the first three months of the year.
“It’s wrong and it needs to stop,” Luna said about individual stock trading.
DeSantis’ support for the measure is not a surprise given his ongoing criticism of Congress. He has also advocated for congressional term limits.
The governor made his stance amid the backdrop of 2026 elections, where the Republican front-runner for governor, Rep. Byron Donalds, has been dinged over his stock trading. Donalds has said previously that he relies on a financial adviser managing his IRA without his input and that brokers who work for congressional clients should be required to publicly submit notes that would show whether members are directing trades.
Donalds has been hit with ethics complaints alleging that he failed to disclose more than 100 stock trades in a timely fashion as required by federal law. He said during a radio interview in December that he would vote for Luna’s bill, even though he wants a carve-out to allow stock trades if it is done by a broker on behalf of a member.
President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson will meet at the White House Tuesday with the executives of top artificial intelligence companies, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private plans.
The meeting comes as Congress is coming under increasing pressure to put federal guardrails on AI development, as fears mount that technological advancements could soon spiral beyond human control.
Responding to some warnings that AI development was on track to cause human extinction by the end of the decade, Johnson has said he wants Trump and AI CEOs to “go in a big room, close the door and sort this out.” He has yet to endorse major legislative action to address the issue, as Trump has resisted calls for government regulations, citing concerns about lagging behind China.
The president and speaker were in attendance at the State Dinner on Thursday night in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, as were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. It was not immediately clear which of these executives would be invited to next week’s meeting, and who will be participating.
News that the meeting had been scheduled was first reported by Axios.
A group of 10 Democrats has signed on to Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Texas) bill that would ban superintelligence and pause advanced AI development until a vetting regime could be stood up.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), both of whom are mulling a 2028 presidential run, are cosponsoring the bill, named the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act.
Khanna, in a statement, noted that he convened a hearing this week on AI safety cooperation between the U.S. and China as ranking member of the House China Select Committee with AI experts who underscored the need for a verifiable pause on superintelligence.
AI superintelligence is an as-yet hypothetical form of the advanced technology that surpasses humans’ cognitive capabilities, but exactly when AI crosses the threshold into superintelligence remains contested. The bill would subject violators to a 20-year prison sentence.
The support from prominent progressives in the Democratic caucus comes as the party is navigating how they would approach AI regulation should they retake control of one or both chambers in November.
Other cosponsors include Reps. Analilia Mejia of New Jersey, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, Val Hoyle of Oregon, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Chuy García of Illinois, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Nydia Velázquez of New York.
“We absolutely have to slow down and regulate the advancement of dangerous AI technologies that have the potential to spiral out-of-control and threaten humanity,” Ansari said.
To Lynch, a string of recent AI-led cyberbreaches has “shown us that the advanced forms of this are out of control,” he said in an interview. “We haven’t really solved that control problem yet, nor have we got the alignment problem right yet.”
Casar’s bill, introduced this week with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is among the most stringent AI regulations proposed by either party.
Rather than focusing on bans as Casar and his progressive allies have done, centrist Democrats are looking to legislative proposals they say can address the technology’s risks without stifling innovation.
Senate Republicans are discussing whether to call up a data center utility costs bill as they make plans to stay in Washington next week rather than beat an early exit before the midterms.
Two GOP aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Senate will remain in town amid pressure from some corners of the party to send members home early to campaign.
Asked if the Senate will stay next week, Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday it’s “looking that way.”
While some lawmakers had hoped to move a long-brewing bipartisan energy permitting deal, those hopes have evaporated, and GOP leaders are instead eyeing votes on the Ratepayer Protection Act — a top priority of endangered Ohio Sen. Jon Husted.
Thune said Thursday moving to the data-center-focused bill next week “is an option.” The Senate is also expected to take up a Democratic resolution condemning the Iran war and several presidential nominations.
The Ratepayer Protection Act easily passed the House earlier this month, but some Senate Democrats are arguing it does not go far enough and party leaders could be motivated to deny Husted a pre-election win.
Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
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