Top Senate Democrats urge SEC probe into whether Trump, GOP manipulated stocks

Top Senate Democrats accused President Trump and his inner circle of manipulating the market before he announced his 90-day pause on most tariffs.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Mr. Trump, members of his Cabinet, administration officials, insiders or donors engaged in “insider trading, market manipulation or other securities laws” after the president’s insistence that it was a “great time to buy” ahead of his announcement to pause his reciprocal tariffs.

Mr. Trump this week announced that he would drop his tariff rate to 10% for countries that don’t retaliate, while cranking up tariffs against China to 125%. 

As a result, the stock market on Wednesday mounted a historic rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 7.9%, the Nasdaq skyrocketed 12.2%, and the S&P 500 rose 9.5%. But stocks flopped again the next day.

But Ms. Warren of Massachusetts, alongside Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and others alleged that a social media post before the president’s announcement warranted a probe into whether any market manipulation occurred. 

The lawmakers noted in a letter to the agency on Thursday that hours before his announcement to pause tariffs, the president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

They said it was “unclear which officials and affiliates of President Trump had advance knowledge” of his plan, but insiders may have been wise to his next move and the impact it would have on the stock market. 

“It is unconscionable that as American families are concerned about their financial security during this economic crisis entirely manufactured by the President, insiders may have actively profited from the market volatility and potentially perpetrated financial fraud on the American public,” the lawmakers wrote. 

“At this critical moment, the SEC must do its part to restore Americans’ faith in the rule of law and to preserve the integrity of the financial system, in accordance with its statutory mission,” they continued. 

The lawmakers called on the SEC to outline what steps have been or will be taken to investigate market manipulation, insider trading or other violations of federal securities laws in connection with the tariff pause, whether the White House has communicated with the agency about a possible investigation and how staff reductions at the SEC have affected the agency’s ability to investigate such a matter. 

The Washington Times reached out to the White House for comment. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, similarly said House Democrats would mount investigations into whether any market manipulation surrounded the president’s tariff announcement.