Rep. Craig Introduces Bill to Prevent President and VP from Profiting off Their Positions, Crack Down on Conflicts of Interest

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig introduced new legislation that would prevent the President and Vice President from benefitting financially from their positions and take head on President Trump’s clear conflicts of interest.

Rep. Craig’s Presidential Conflicts of Interest Accountability Act would require the President and Vice President and their immediate family members to disclose financial interests and divest of any financial interest posing a potential conflict of interest.

Specifically, the bill would require the President and the Vice President to submit a disclosure of financial interests to Congress and the Director of Government Ethics no later than 30 days after assuming office. Under this legislation, the President and Vice President and their immediate family members would have to divest of any financial interest posing a potential conflict of interest by transferring it to a blind trust and selling it. This would be enforced by the Attorney General or state attorneys general, who have the authority to sue if the President or Vice President refuses to comply with the law.

The New York Times Editorial Board recently reported that according to their analysis, President Trump has abused the Presidency to make at least $1.4 billion since taking office. That’s 16,882 times the median U.S. household income. President Trump has raked in profits from licensing deals; settlements with technology and media companies; his own mobile phone provider, Trump Mobile; lavish gifts and cryptocurrencies – by far, his biggest moneymaker.

“Time and time again, we have seen President Trump use his position to enrich himself and his family at the expense of everyday Americans,” said Rep. Craig. “It’s long past time we have guardrails in place to hold this Administration accountable and ensure the President is working in the best interest of the American people – not his own bank account."

Since first taking office in 2019, Rep. Craig has become a leader in the Democratic caucus on government ethics and reform.

In Congress, Rep. Craig has worked to curb President Trump’s executive power and hold him accountable for implementing policies that are making life harder for working Minnesotans. In September, during the longest government shutdown in American history, Rep. Craig introduced her Termination of Reckless Unchecked Mandates from this President (TRUMP) Act to prohibit the President from using any federal funds to issue executive orders during a government shutdown.

She has also led legislation to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks and personally profiting from their time in office. Last June, she reintroduced her NO STOCK Resolution, which would require every sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately sell their individual stocks and refrain from future stock ownership while in Congress. And last April, she reintroduced her Halt Unchecked Member Benefits with Lobbying Elimination (HUMBLE) Act – a broader package of reforms that would ban Members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks, prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for first-class airline tickets, prevent Members from serving on corporate boards while they are in Congress, ban Members from becoming lobbyists, eliminate access to Members-only perks for former Members and eliminate automatic pay raises for Members of Congress.

You can read the full text of the bill here.

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