House Ethics Chair Michael Guest Violates STOCK Act

Michael Guest, the Chair of the House Ethics Committee, has been found to have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) by failing to disclose three stock sales made by a family trust fund owned by his wife, Haley. The sales, which involved shares of Chevron, Airbnb, and e.l.f. Beauty, were disclosed more than six months late, as required by law, which mandates that members of Congress disclose individual stock trades within 45 days. Guest stated that he was unaware of the transactions until recently and that a compliance firm had missed them. Each late sale was valued between $1,001 and $15,000, and Guest indicated that the sales were made at a loss. This incident marks the second time Guest has violated the STOCK Act, with a previous late disclosure occurring in 2021. The House recently passed the Stop Insider Trading Act, which aims to ban federal lawmakers from buying individual stocks, and Guest voted in favor of this bill, which is currently under consideration in the Senate. Other members of Congress have also been reported for STOCK Act violations in the past year.