House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday that House Democrats are launching a series of investigations into what he described as a “possible stock manipulation” scheme tied to former President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on newly imposed tariffs — a move that sent the stock market soaring.
In a press conference at the Capitol, Jeffries raised alarm over the timing of Trump’s tariff pause and the corresponding surge in stock prices, pointing to the potential for insider trading and political profiteering.
“We need to get to the bottom of the possible stock manipulation that is unfolding before the American people, including what, if any, advance knowledge did members of the House Republican Conference have of Trump’s decision to pause the reckless tariffs that he put into place,” Jeffries said.
The controversy stems from Trump’s surprise announcement on Wednesday that he would dial back the blanket tariffs he had implemented just days earlier — a policy that had triggered a historic $6 trillion sell-off across global markets.
Trump’s decision to reduce tariffs to a 10% baseline for most countries (excluding China) reversed that market turmoil, prompting one of the largest single-day stock market rallies in nearly 20 years.
BREAKING: In a stunning announcement, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries just formally announced House Democrats will investigate Donald Trump’s alleged market interference scheme. This is huge. pic.twitter.com/9AHi3zCs9Z
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) April 10, 2025
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social early Wednesday morning — hours before the tariff rollback — with a now-viral post: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
The post, combined with the subsequent policy shift, has raised serious ethical and legal concerns among lawmakers and market analysts. The sudden market rebound has prompted speculation that Trump may have used his platform — and presidential powers — to engineer a financial windfall for political allies or even himself.
Jeffries didn’t mince words about the implications.
“There are several members of Congress who will be aggressively demanding answers and transparency, particularly as it relates to stock purchase decisions that may have occurred over the last few days,” he said.
He added that while Democrats are in the minority, they are not powerless. According to Jeffries, there are “several avenues” for the party to investigate the matter, including through financial disclosures mandated by the STOCK Act — the 2012 law requiring members of Congress to report any stock trades within 30 to 45 days of execution.
“We know that members of the House of Representatives will have to disclose any stock trades that they’ve made 30 days from the date of those trades or potentially no later than 45 days,” Jeffries said. “So our point is, you might as well get it out into the public domain now, because it’s coming later, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
While Jeffries did not name any specific lawmakers under suspicion, he emphasized that the Democrats will be monitoring disclosure filings closely and won’t hesitate to act if any evidence emerges of insider trading or other unethical behavior.
