U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) was asked on CNBC’s Squawk Box about the controversial bill banning congressional stock trading, which has received complaints from both sides of the aisle for banning only the buying of stocks (not the selling), and for not including billionaire President Donald Trump and his cabinet members. Trump’s cabinet includes numerous billionaires including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
[NOTE: Concerns about Trump’s market maneuvering rose earlier this month when a financial disclosure report revealed that during the first year of his second term, the president’s investment advisers, as ABC reported, made “more than 21,000 securities trades, amassing sizable holdings in companies that are directly involved in deals tied to his administration.”]
Ricketts, who introduced the legislation in the Senate, is the eldest son of billionaire Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade (which is now part of Charles Schwab). Responding to reports of dissatisfaction about the legislation’s reach, he did not mention Trump and replied: “We’re focused on what we’re doing here in the Congress.”
Sen. Pete Ricketts on why the Trump administration isn't included in his stock trading ban bill: "What we want to do is make sure we're not locking out people who come from a successful business. We don't want to keep a successful business person from coming to Congress." pic.twitter.com/lvnNQcxbUQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2026
Ricketts, a former two-term governor of Nebraska, added, “What we want to do is making sure we’re not locking people who want to come from, say, a successful business, we don’t want to keep a successful businessperson from coming to the U.S. Congress by saying you can’t have any stock. What we’re gonna say is you can’t buy any more once you get here. And if you’re gonna sell anything, you have to notify people, and there’s a ten percent plus penalty if you fail to do that.”
Dan Osborn, an Independent candidate running against Ricketts for his Senate seat this year, has repeatedly criticized Ricketts and the influence of his extremely wealthy family in elections. (Osborn is a U.S. Navy veteran, mechanic, and former union labor leader.)
Pete Ricketts “career” was built on handouts from his daddy. Pete never built anything himself.
— Dan Osborn (@osbornforne) July 16, 2026
Pete was gifted a job at TD Ameritrade. Pete was gifted a piece of the Chicago Cubs.
And when it was time for Pete to stand on his own, his daddy dumped MILLIONS into his elections,…
Last week, Osborn wrote: “Pete Ricketts ‘career’ was built on handouts from his daddy. Pete never built anything himself. Pete was gifted a job at TD Ameritrade. Pete was gifted a piece of the Chicago Cubs. And when it was time for Pete to stand on his own, his daddy dumped MILLIONS into his elections, trying to buy what Pete could never win on his own. Most Nebraskans don’t have a rich daddy bailing them out. They stand on their own merits and earn everything they have. I stand on my own too. That’s the difference between us.
[NOTE: On Friday, Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank withdrew from the Senate race in Nebraska, which could help Osborn’s chances of winning.]
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