Wednesday was not exactly a banner day for Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who managed to find herself on the losing side of not one but two House votes in a single afternoon. That takes a special kind of legislative talent, folks. As Conservative Brief reported, the congresswoman opposed both a stock trading restriction bill and the annual Pentagon spending authorization, and both sailed right past her objections like she was holding up a stop sign on a highway.
First up was the Stop Insider Trading Act, which cleared the chamber with a 232 to 198 tally. Thirteen Democrats crossed over to join Republicans in backing the measure. The legislation would let lawmakers and their immediate relatives hold onto stocks they currently own but requires them to publicly announce any planned sales a week or two before pulling the trigger. Violators would face fines of either two grand or ten percent of the transaction value, whichever hurts more. So basically, Congress is telling itself to behave, which historically has worked out great.
Here's where it gets spicy though. House Republicans decided to bundle the stock trading provisions with a voter photo ID requirement, which happens to sit atop President Trump's legislative wish list heading into midterm season. Nothing says bipartisan cooperation like stapling two controversial things together and daring people to vote on them simultaneously.
Texas Republican Chip Roy, who has been pushing congressional stock trading bans for roughly a decade, admitted on the floor that he would have preferred a clean standalone vote. But he still called the legislation a giant step forward and basically begged colleagues on both sides to just appreciate the progress. Roy sounded like a dad trying to get his kids excited about a family road trip to a slightly above average rest stop.
Now for round two of Omar's rough afternoon. The House squeaked through its version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act by the thinnest of margins, 216 to 212. The bill greenlit a record breaking $1.15 trillion Pentagon budget, up significantly from last year's $900.6 billion authorization. Seven Republicans and six Democrats broke ranks with their respective parties on the final vote.
The defense bill comes loaded with some fascinating provisions. It would officially rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, which really does sound like someone lost a bet. Service members would receive a five to seven percent pay raise, the active duty military would expand, and nine Southern bases would have to go back to names that replaced Confederate references adopted in 2023.
Texas Republican Jodey Arrington accused Democrats of unprecedented obstruction, pointing to Senate Democrats blocking their chamber's version of the defense bill just last week. Meanwhile, critics argued that Congress probably shouldn't keep throwing money at the Iran conflict while the national debt keeps climbing like it's training for Everest.
As for Omar, she'll have to wait for another day to notch a legislative win. But hey, at least her stock trading concerns might get addressed by the Senate killing the bill anyway, so there's always a silver lining.
Like what you see? Then sign up for our Free Newsletter
