Sen. John Fetterman’s advocacy against stock ownership by lawmakers has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that he failed to disclose his children's sizable stock and bond portfolios in his financial filings.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that Fetterman has been a vocal critic of lawmakers owning or trading stocks, arguing that they should focus on serving the public rather than benefiting their own financial interests. However, recent amendments to his financial disclosures have highlighted a contradiction in his position.
Fetterman’s three minor children reportedly hold between $45,000 and $675,000 in stocks and between $53,000 and $445,000 in corporate bonds.
These assets were not initially reported in his financial disclosures from his Senate campaigns in 2021 and 2022, or in his filings as an elected official in 2023. The senator has since amended these documents to include his children’s investments.
Senate ethics rules require lawmakers to disclose assets, transactions, gifts, travel reimbursements, and liabilities for dependent children. Fetterman’s omission has raised questions about whether his failure to report these investments was an oversight or a deliberate decision.
The investments in question are tied to major financial institutions such as Citigroup and J.P. Morgan, which fall under the oversight of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee—a committee on which Fetterman serves.
This potential conflict of interest is particularly concerning given Fetterman’s role in regulating these banks.
The initial disclosures filed during Fetterman’s Senate campaigns on May 17, 2021, and July 29, 2022, and as an elected official on May 15, 2023, did report between $600,000 to $1.25 million in the children's checking accounts. However, the significant stock and bond portfolios were omitted until the recent amendments were made.
Fetterman’s campaign and Senate office have not provided a detailed explanation for the initial failure to disclose these assets, other than a spokeswoman stating, “Once Senator Fetterman was made aware of the investments, he immediately filed the appropriate disclosures.”
Fetterman has positioned himself as a champion of ethics reform in Congress, co-sponsoring the ETHICS Act last year. The legislation aims to ban lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading corporate securities.
Under the act, children of lawmakers are allowed to hold up to $10,000 in such assets, significantly less than what Fetterman’s children currently own.
The ETHICS Act was introduced to prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure that lawmakers cannot profit from the companies they regulate. Fetterman’s own words have echoed this sentiment, with his campaign website stating, "Congress already has enough perks—insider trading shouldn’t be one of them," and "Lawmakers should not be able to profit off the same companies that they are regulating."
The disclosed financial documents reveal that the Fetterman children own up to $30,000 in JPMorgan bonds, up to $15,000 in Citigroup stock, up to $15,000 in Bank of America bonds, up to $15,000 in First Horizon bank bonds, and up to $100,000 in Barclays Bank bonds. These holdings far exceed the limits proposed in the ETHICS Act.
The delayed disclosures could have significant implications for Fetterman’s reputation as an ethics advocate. His failure to report his children’s portfolios for years, despite his public stance against such investments, may be seen as hypocritical by critics and supporters alike.
Moreover, the fact that brokers for Fetterman’s children made 31 trades in corporate stocks and bonds last year, totaling between $59,000 and $435,000, further complicates his image as someone dedicated to curbing potential conflicts of interest in Congress.
Fetterman’s past reliance on financial support from his wealthy father until his late 40s has also been highlighted in light of these recent revelations.
Critics may argue that this reliance on family wealth, combined with the undisclosed portfolios, undermines his credibility as a champion for working-class Americans.
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, where Fetterman holds a seat, held an oversight hearing with the CEOs of many of the banks in which his children are invested in December. The timing of these hearings and the delayed disclosures adds another layer of scrutiny to Fetterman’s actions.
As Fetterman continues to push for stricter ethical standards in Congress, his own compliance with existing rules will likely remain under the microscope. The situation raises broader questions about how lawmakers manage their personal finances and those of their families while serving in office.
