Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is planning a bill to ban stock trading by federal lawmakers and their spouses, but it faces an uphill battle this year.
By David Moore, Sludge
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made headlines last year with the multimillion dollar stock trades of her husband, investor Paul Pelosi, who among other plays exercised call options on Google stock in June that locked in $5.3 million in gains. Not done, the Pelosis purchased millions more in call options from December 17-21, just days after she defended the practice of stock trading by members of Congress in a press conference.
Another congressional spouse outdid Paul Pelosi’s Google call last year, in terms of the highest dollar amount transacted in a single company’s stock. That distinction belongs to Kurt DelBene, a former Microsoft executive who in December was confirmed by the Senate as CIO and assistant secretary for information and technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He’s the husband of Suzan DelBene, the fifth-term representative from Washington’s First Congressional District, which encompasses a third of King County outside Seattle.

In late August 2021, Kurt DelBene reported a purchase of Microsoft stock valued between $5.2 million and $25.5 million in two transactions, then divested shares in two transactions in September and October of over $5 million apiece. The DelBene household had started the year with between $1 million and $5 million of Microsoft stock in a joint trust, generating income of up to $100,000 in 2020, with an additional up to $250,000 in Microsoft shares held by Kurt, so the hefty stock pickup in August more than doubled their holdings. Rep. DelBene is the vice chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means committee and chair of the business-favoring New Democrat Coalition, whose 97 caucus members edge out the 95 House progressives.
Recent Posts
In Ukraine, Biden Is Walking Into A Trap
March 20, 2023
Take Action Now Three key factors show why the administration needs to press the accelerator pedal on negotiations with Russia now. by…
Immediate Action Is Needed To Ensure ‘A Livable Future For All,’ UN Climate Panel Says
March 20, 2023
Take Action Now World needs a “quantum leap” in climate ambition to stave off devastating consequences. By Joseph Winters, Grist Current and future…
The Lords of Chaos
March 20, 2023
Take Action Now The politicians and shills in the media who orchestrated 20 years of military debacles in the Middle East, and who seek a world…
War Made Easy: The Iraq War 20 Years Later
March 19, 2023
Take Action Now This critically acclaimed documentary exhumes five decades of remarkable archival footage to show how presidents from both parties…