US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back against questions surrounding President Donald Trump's trading activities, saying the president was not personally engaged in high-frequency trading, and that any transactions were likely handled by an outside investment manager.
"Trump not engaging in high-frequency trading," Bessent said, adding that the president "clearly had an outside manager who was trading."
Addressing broader concerns about market activity by elected officials, Bessent argued that lawmakers should focus on their own conduct before targeting others.
"On trading, Congress needs to get house in order first," he said.
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During a Senate hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on whether it was appropriate for a sitting president to trade stocks. Bessent responded that Trump was not "sitting in the Oval Office engaging in a high-frequency trading strategy" and said any trading activity was being managed by an outside investment manager.
"Congress should get their house in order before you move to the executive branch," Bessent said. Warren pushed back, asking whether he believed such activity was acceptable for a president. "You think it's okay for the president to do this? You know better," she said.
Separately, House Democrats accused Trump and his allies of profiting from policies they say disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans. In a post on X, the caucus said, "Donald Trump and his allies are trading stocks and making fortunes off Republicans' billionaire-first policies."
"And who's paying the price? The American people," the post added.
A series of unusually well-timed trades across oil, equities and prediction markets earlier had come under renewed scrutiny in the United States, amid growing questions over whether market participants may have benefited from advance knowledge of key policy decisions linked to President Donald Trump.
The spotlight intensified after media reports revealed that the White House circulated an internal email on March 24 cautioning staff against using their positions to trade in financial markets or event-based betting platforms. The advisory followed a pattern of trades executed moments before major geopolitical and policy announcements.
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According to investigations and market data reviewed by Reuters and Bloomberg, several instances involved large, high-conviction bets placed shortly before market-moving developments, generating substantial returns for traders.
Legal experts say the frequency, scale and timing of these transactions have raised concerns and warrant closer examination. While there is no direct evidence so far establishing insider trading, the repeated occurrence of such trades has fuelled calls for greater regulatory scrutiny.
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