What Are Congressional Politicians Trading Right Now? Inside 2025's Most Active Politician Trades

When members of Congress file their stock disclosures, they’re not just making personal investment decisions—they’re inadvertently revealing where sophisticated insiders believe market opportunities lie. As January wrapped up and the major indices posted solid gains (S&P 500 up 2.93%, Nasdaq Composite up 1.8%, Dow Jones up 5.08%), a handful of politician trades have already drawn attention for their concentrated bets on specific sectors.

The Biggest Names Moving Markets

According to data aggregated by Quiver Quantitative, a platform that tracks government transactions and holdings, certain members stand out for their trading volume this year. Sen. Markwayne Mullin has emerged as the most active in January alone, disclosing $1.16 million in trade volume across 10 individual stocks and several funds. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who topped last year’s leaderboard with 526 trades totaling $91.05 million in volume, continues to show significant market activity. Former Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose tech-heavy approach has drawn media scrutiny over the years, disclosed five new transactions in January.

Meanwhile, Gottheimer’s estimated net worth of $50.42 million positions him as one of the wealthier members actively trading. Pelosi, by comparison, sits at $272.5 million—second only to Sen. Rick Scott’s $548.8 million. These wealth levels raise questions about whether politician trades reflect genuine conviction or access to non-public information.

Sector Thesis Emerging from Recent Trades

Gottheimer’s January filings reveal a clear thesis: financial sector strength. His purchases of Goldman Sachs and Block Inc. align with Wall Street expectations that deregulation could boost financials. Separately, his Microsoft and Apple trades suggest bullish positioning on technology—a sector that dominated 2024 gains. His Walmart purchases hint at a consumer staples hedge against inflation.

Pelosi’s recent activity tells a different story. Her five January transactions centered on tech and growth names: Amazon call options, Alphabet, Nvidia, Tempus AI, and Vistra. Her Tempus AI position has already appreciated 92.05%, validating her conviction in the biotech space.

Conversely, Sen. Tommy Tuberville has remained quiet in early 2025 despite being Congress’s second-most active trader by volume last year. Franklin took a similar pause, posting zero disclosed trades in January despite 69 transactions in 2024 and $5.1 million in sell volume outpacing his $1.27 million buy volume.

Mullin’s diverse approach across robotics, semiconductors, and industrial stocks (Applied Industrial Technologies, Coherent, Dell, Wabtec, Stride) suggests a value-oriented strategy. His Stride purchase has already climbed 27.99%.

The Ongoing Debate Over Politician Trades

The Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, reintroduced this year by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Brian Fitzpatrick, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cory Mills, seeks to ban individual stock ownership among Congress members, citing that they outperformed the S&P 500 by 17.5% in 2022. Over 80% of Americans across party lines support such a ban, according to University of Maryland polling.

The STOCK Act, which mandates disclosure within 45 days for transactions exceeding $1,000, creates an unintended consequence: it telegraphs potential opportunities to retail investors willing to track politician trades. Whether this transparency helps or harms markets remains contested.

What This Means for Markets

As these politician trades continue throughout 2025, retail investors will likely continue mining congressional disclosures for insights. Whether treating politician trades as a contrarian signal, confirmation bias, or legitimate alpha remains an open question—but one thing is certain: the market is watching.