• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has seen her net worth increase by $140 million since the 2008 financial crisis thanks in no small part to her husband’s fortuitous trades in companies she has worked to subsidize.
• Now, she’s trying to pull up the ladder behind her: In what may be her final months as a member of Congress, she’s backing a proposal that would prohibit her colleagues from buying or selling individual stocks.
• Pelosi scoffed at the idea of banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks as recently as December, saying that she and her colleagues should be able to fully participate in the free market economy.
• After rejecting similar proposals, Pelosi is throwing her weight behind legislation that would ban stock trading among members of Congress and other senior government officials.
• House Democratic leaders introduced the Combating Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government Act last Tuesday but failed to bring the measure to a vote before adjourning for the midterm elections.

Tagged: Capitol Hill