New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker is calling for congressional hearings into allegations of insider trading after President Donald Trump urged people to buy stocks before he backtracked on his tariff policy.
“There is enough of an offense here, there’s enough smoke here that should demand congressional hearings,” Booker NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Last week, Democratic members of Congress began pressing for answers as to whether the president, his family, administration officials and allies had improperly traded after Trump declared “this is a great time to buy” following chaos in the market after his sweeping tariffs went into effect.
Hours later, Trump announced that most of the tariffs would be put on a 90-day pause, prompting the stock market to skyrocket.
When was asked if Democrats have any evidence of illicit trading, the senator didn’t directly answer the question but instead criticized the Trump administration and noted that Congress needs to act on its oversight responsibilities.
“These are real, legitimate, justifiable questions,” said the senator. “Not to have hearings, not to do any kind of oversight, undermines the faith we have in our government, undermines the trust we need in our nation right now.”
Nineteen House Democrats sent a letter last week to the top official at the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for an “immediate investigation into possible insider trading and market manipulation” in the time preceding Trump’s tariff pause.
Two Democratic senators, California’s Adam Schiff and Arizona’s Ruben Gallego, also asked the White House for answers, as well as the U.S. trade representative, regarding their concerns about possible unlawful actions connected with Trump’s trade policy announcements.
A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, rejected the notion that Trump was trying to manipulate the market, according to NBC News.
“It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering,” he said last week. “Democrats railed against China’s cheating for decades, and now they’re playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump’s decisive action yesterday to finally corner China.”
Booker subsequently chose not to rule out a 2028 presidential campaign after his record-breaking 25-hour Senate speech, and there was speculation that he’s looking ahead to the upcoming Democratic primary. He ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 but dropped out of the race before Iowa caucuses. He endorsed former President Joe Biden.
“I’m focused on today and my re-election in ’26,” he told Meet the Press on Sunday. “I’ve already announced to the people of New Jersey. I’m hoping they’ll allow me to be their senator for another six years. And let’s be clear, I’m proud of the work that we’ve done over the last six years.”
