Ashley Moody Backs a Stock-Trading Ban for Congress as July Report Estimates 310% Returns on Family-Linked Trades

Florida Senator Ashley Moody is backing a congressional stock-trading ban as a July financial report estimates 310% returns on trades linked to her extended family partnership, inviting scrutiny days before Florida's special Senate election on Tuesday, 3 November.

The estimated 310% figure, reported by the financial outlet 24/7 Wall St in July, was said to outpace the one-year returns of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, long the benchmark for profitable congressional investing. A holding in the chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), bought in late February 2025, rose 306% over the period, according to that report. Some other holdings fell, with Super Micro Computer down more than 40% over the same period, showing uneven results across the investments.

The detail that keeps the story factual rather than accusatory comes from Moody's office. The disclosed trades are attributed to an extended family investment partnership run by an adviser, and her office says she 'never approved or initiated' them. She left the arrangement last year and now argues members should not even appear to profit from office.

What the Bill Would Actually Do

In January, Moody and Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York introduced the Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would stop members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks. The ban reaches spouses and dependent children, a provision meant to block lawmakers from moving assets to relatives. Current members would get 180 days to divest, and new arrivals 90 days.

A companion House bill has drawn more than 120 co-sponsors from both parties, a sign of rare cross-aisle momentum. Those trade disclosures exist because of the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which Gillibrand led, requiring lawmakers to report trades but stopping short of a ban.

Why Voters Across Parties Care

Congressional stock trading is one of the few issues that unites Republican, Democratic, and independent voters in frustration. A 2023 University of Maryland survey put public support for a ban at 86%, and the House passed a separate stock-trading bill in July that stalled in the Senate on 30 September. That shared anger is why a candidate campaigning to end the practice while a report credits family-linked trades with exceptional returns invites scrutiny.

A Campaign Already Dogged by the Issue

The timing is difficult for Moody. Appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025 to replace Marco Rubio, she faces Democratic state Representative Angie Nixon on 3 November and says she has raised more than $20.6 million (£15.4 million) across committees. During the primary, the defeated Democrat Alex Vindman hit her over the same trades. Nixon has pressed the point while Moody has refused to debate her, calling her a 'self-proclaimed socialist', as state Democrats displayed 'Where is Ashley Moody?' signs.

What Happens Next

Prediction markets still make Moody a heavy favourite, and recent polls show her ahead, though published margins range from about 2 to 11 points. Early voting is already underway across Florida. Whether the stock-trading question shifts votes before 3 November is unclear, though it hands her opponents a clean attack line. A senator asking Congress to surrender the trades linked to her family partnership is the kind of apparent contradiction voters may remember long after the filings are forgotten.