Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is looking for a Republican co-sponsor on proposed legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks, is making his move because he doesn't want to seem like a socialist, Rep. Pete Sessions said on Newsmax Monday.
"He's lonely," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now."
"He wants to appear like he's a populist and people are not going to be fooled by that."
The Georgia Democrat wants to introduce an ethics bill that would block conflicts of interest by banning lawmakers and their families from trading stocks while in office, reports The New York Post, quoting a source close to the situation.
The bill would require lawmakers to put assets into blind trusts, which Ossoff did himself after his election in last January's runoff election.
The Post notes that no Senate Republicans have come out against stock trades being made by members of Congress, but there are some in the House, like Texas GOP Reps. Michael Cloud and Chip Roy, who oppose such trading.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has come under scrutiny after reports she and her family have raked in millions from Big Tech stocks.
Sessions told Newsmax that it is important to remember that members of Congress have reporting processes requiring them to report within 30 days after making a trade.
"Should we be doing more? Well, perhaps," Sessions said. "Let's remember that all this money that has been made comes directly as a result of the tax bill that Republicans did and President Donald Trump signed into law in 2017. There have been incredible amounts of money made by all sorts of people."
But still, Sessions said he doesn't think members of Congress are "making that many material decisions" about the marketplace.
Sessions also commented on the news that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tested positive for COVID-19 after a highly criticized trip she took to Miami recently.
"I'm sorry she has it," said Sessions. "This is a difficult thing when members of Congress have a responsibility to be out with people, but you have to take their own responsibility and make sure you're going to try and be safe. I have avoided it, but we're all just lucky, so I'm sorry that she has it."
In another topic, Sessions commented on the Supreme Court's proceedings on President Joe Biden's workplace vaccine mandates, including the news that Justice Sonia Sotomayer cited incorrect information that overstated the number of children who have been hospitalized with COVID-19.
"I think that she has her own opinion, and as a Supreme Court justice, she thinks she can put her own facts out there when in fact, you know that's not correct, so, shame on her," said Sessions. "She got caught."
He added that he thinks the court "will have it right" and a stay will come against the mandate that requires shots for people working for companies with 100 or more employees.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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