Members of Congress are currently allowed to buy and sell stocks, options and cryptocurrency as long as they properly disclose the transactions in a timely manner. A congresswoman recently violated that practice, with some transactions reported 11 months after they were made.
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Congresswoman Violates STOCK Act
Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently reported dozens of stock transactions, which can be viewed on the Benzinga Government Trades page.
Those transactions include buys and sales, with some stock transactions done on the same day. The transactions total up to $1.1 million in buys and sales.
Johnson’s trades are catching attention due to their timing. While the disclosure was recently made in August 2026, the trades date back to December 2025, October 2025, September 2025 and one trade completed on May 7, 2025.
The STOCK Act mandates that members of congress report stock transactions within 45 days of being made. Doing the math on the trades, they are all in violation of the STOCK Act, resulting in a $200 fine for Johnson.
“We just caught new STOCK Act violations. Representative Julie Johnson just filed dozens trades that were made last year. There appear to be numerous instances of day-trading, with stocks being bought and sold on the same day,” Quiver Quantitative tweeted.
Stock Trades Hurt Johnson’s Re-Election?
Johnson has been a member of congress since 2025, but will be exiting in January 2027. The congresswoman lost her re-election bid in a runoff against Colin Allred for the Democratic nomination earlier this year.
According to a report from NOTUS, Johnson’s past stock trading history may have contributed to her loss.
Johnson previously promised to sell her personal stock holdings to “avoid any potential conflicts of interest,” according to the report. Those transactions were not disclosed until this week.
Johnson’s spokesperson Chelsea Roe told NOTUS the trades were “transfers between accounts to complete the final divestment of those stocks in 2025.” The spokesperson said the final sales were made “within the required time frame,” but transfers weren’t. The latest transaction report “makes those corrections,” Roe said.
The spokesperson did not confirm whether Johnson violated the STOCK Act or had to pay a late filing fee.
Allred previously used stock trades made by Johnson before and after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” in campaign messages to show that the congresswoman was profiting from companies that did business with Trump and the president’s decisions.
While stocks are likely not the only reason Johnson lost her re-election bid, her opponent using her stock trading history against her could be something to watch in the ongoing battles for the 2026 midterms.
Photo Courtesy: prassarp on Shutterstock.com
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