A deepening political tension between President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi surfaces amid discussions of congressional stock trading restrictions.
According to Newsweek, Democratic National Committee finance committee member Lindy Li revealed that Biden "still has a bone to pick" with Pelosi, attributing his recent endorsement of a congressional stock trading ban to lingering grievances against the former House speaker.
The friction stems from Pelosi's reported behind-the-scenes efforts to encourage Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
This revelation comes as Biden takes his strongest stance yet on congressional stock trading regulations, marking a significant shift from his previous position of letting Congress determine its own rules.
During a YouTube interview with Bernie Sanders' political adviser, Faiz Shakir, Biden expressed his support for stricter regulations on congressional stock trading. His statement represents a departure from his longstanding position on the matter, suggesting a possible connection to the reported tension with Pelosi.
Li, speaking on Fox News @ Night, suggested that Biden's evolution on this issue is directly related to his strained relationship with Pelosi. According to Li's statements to host Kevin Corke:
I think we should be changing the law...at the federal level [so] that nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they're in the Congress. I don't know how you look your constituents in the eye and know, because the job they gave you, gave you an inside track to make more money.
The situation has created visible tension between the two Democratic leaders, with reports indicating they didn't communicate for nearly three months after Biden's campaign withdrawal.
Pelosi's history with stock trading has been a point of controversy throughout her career. With an estimated net worth of $114.7 million as of 2018, she faced scrutiny in 2022 when her husband, Paul Pelosi, made $5.3 million from Alphabet options before a House antitrust hearing.
Initially, Pelosi opposed restrictions on congressional stock trading, defending it as part of a free-market economy. Her position later appeared to soften, though she never fully embraced a comprehensive ban. When asked about Li's comments, Pelosi's spokesperson provided a notably terse response: "Who?"
The former House speaker has consistently maintained that her husband's trading activities were independent of any information she possessed. She emphasized that his options were scheduled to expire on the day he exercised them.
Biden's current position marks his strongest stance on congressional stock trading during his presidency. However, with less than a month remaining in his term following his July withdrawal from the presidential race, the practical implementation of such reforms remains uncertain.
Li's comments extend beyond the stock trading controversy, expressing concerns about Biden's cognitive fitness and criticizing the Democratic Party's handling of various issues. She has notably broken ranks with her party on several occasions, including her support for Trump's secretary of defense nominee.
The situation reflects broader tensions within the Democratic Party following Vice President Kamala Harris's election loss to Donald Trump, which Li characterized as a "$1 billion disaster." These developments highlight significant internal divisions and policy disagreements among Democratic leaders as they navigate their path forward.
