Members of Congress With the Best Performance in 2025
- Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): 78.8%
- Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ): 70.8%
- Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL): 67.9%
- Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI): 62.5%
- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA): 61.7%
- Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY): 61.6%
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL): 54.8%
- Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS): 52.5%
- Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA): 50%
- Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA): 41.9%
Data source: Unusual Whales (2026).
Rep. Warren Davidson’s impressive returns in 2025 were due to significant purchases of GE (GE -1.49%) and GE Vernova (GEV +2.46%), according to Unusual Whales.
Rep. Donald Norcross managed a nearly 71% gain in 2025 holding shares of just two companies: Cigna (CI -2.53%) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD +0.84%).
Rep. Terri Sewell’s 67.9% return in 2025 was fueled at least in part by her purchase of Nvidia shares in April 2025. She was the only active trader in 2025 to make the top five highest returns among members of Congress holding stocks.
Rep. Bryan Steil wasn’t an active trader in 2025, but he disclosed trades of Caterpillar (CAT +0.46%), GE, GE Vernova, and Ford (F -0.90%) last year.
Sen. Alex Padilla is another member who didn’t report any trades in 2025. His holdings include a range of ETFs, including those that cover natural resources, energy, emerging markets, and gold.
Members of Congress With the Worst Returns in 2025
- Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): -59%
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): -33.9%
- Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN): -26.9%
- Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL): -22.2%
- Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ): -21%
- Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH): -12.8%
- Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC): -11.9%
- Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY): -10.9%
- Rep. Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL): -9.6%
- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX): -4%
Data source: Unusual Whales (2026).
Rep. Chip Roy had the worst market performance last year due to his investment in one stock, Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI -1.22%), which had a rough year, according to Unusual Whales.
Rep. Jim McGovern similarly held just one stock, Owens Corning (OC -0.58%), that had a poor year.
Rep. Pete Stauber purchased shares of Newell Brands (NWL -1.77%) in the fall of 2025, only for the stock to precipitously decline over the rest of the year.
Congressional Stock Trading Rules
Members of Congress and their immediate families are free to buy and sell stocks as long as trades of $1,000 or more are reported within 45 days, as required by the 2012 STOCK Act.
Members of Congress are not prohibited from trading stocks that involve companies that could be affected by legislation they are considering or companies they oversee through committee assignments.
Insider trading laws do apply to members of Congress, but information gained from their work may not meet the definition of insider information.
What’s Next for Stock Trading in Congress?
Members of Congress have come under increasing scrutiny for stock trading, particularly when trades involve companies under the jurisdiction of the committees they sit on or when they trade stocks that may be affected by legislation and other policy decisions for which they have unique insight.
A 2022 New York Times analysis found that 97 members of Congress -- nearly a fifth of elected representatives and senators -- made trades from 2019 to 2021 that could amount to conflicts of interest based on their committee assignments.
There has been a steady stream of stories on members of Congress making trades at opportune moments in the past five years. These include trades made prior to the onset of COVID-19 in the U.S., around the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and in advance of the Ukraine–Russia war and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Those stories and the creation of databases to track Congressional stock trading have spurred some in Congress to draft legislation to ban members (and their spouses) from trading individual stocks. Former President Joe Biden even threw his support behind a ban on Congressional stock trading on his way out of office.
A bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress, their spouses, and future presidents and vice presidents was passed out of a Senate committee in July 2025, but congressional leadership hasn’t made its opinions known on the legislation. Similar legislation moved out of committee in 2024 but was never voted on by the full Senate.
While politicians are weighing what to do about stock trading rules, the public overwhelmingly supports banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. A 2023 Nielsen survey found that 86% of Americans supported a ban on members of Congress trading in individual companies' stocks.
The argument for a ban that the public found most convincing? There are too many potential conflicts of interest for members of Congress to buy and sell individual stocks.
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