Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there was “enough of an offense” to trigger congressional hearings questioning whether anyone traded improperly after President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Some of your Democratic colleagues are actually calling for an investigation into whether or not there was insider trading. The president saying it’s a good time to buy and then, of course, hitting the pause button on some of those tariffs. Do you believe that democrats have any real evidence that anyone in the administration profited off of the president’s policies and announcements, or is this just a fishing expedition?”
Booker said, “Here’s the thing with Donald Trump and congressional Republicans: our whole system was designed to have checks and balances. Trump has designed an administration like none we’ve ever seen before. He is attacking the very agencies that are supposed to have independent oversight of these kind of actions. So hiring people based upon their loyalty, not based upon their expertise. The real group that should be holding investigations and accountability and even just oversight is Congress for every outrageous thing he’s done.”
Welker said, “Do you think there’s any evidence that expect profited off of these tariffs?”
Booker said, “There is enough of an offense here. There’s enough smoke here that should demand congressional hearings. We are a separate and equal branch of government. The Constitution lays out very clearly that Congress is not supposed to be spineless and submissive. It is supposed to hold oversight over the president and these are real, justifiable questions and not to have hearings and not to do oversight undermines the faith we have in our government and undermines that the trust we need in our nation right now.”
Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN