Iowa Republican Zach Nunn Pledges Not to Trade Stocks in Congress, Says Democrat Cindy Axne Should Do the Same

Iowa Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn on Thursday pledged he would not trade stocks if he is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and successfully unseats Democrat Rep. Cindy Axne (IA), calling on his opponent to do the same.

Nunn pledged that he and his wife would not trade any stocks in Congress and would support a ban on members of Congress trading stocks after being sworn into Congress during a call with reporters — the same commitment he has made in Iowa as a lawmaker.

“Iowans expect their elected officials to be regulating and protecting them,” Nunn said during the press call. “I’m announcing that myself and my wife will never trade stocks elected to Congress in the same way that we have done in our time in the Iowa Senate.”

Nunn noted that he would keep this commitment to Iowa even if the legislation proposed in the House does not become law.

The Hawkeye State Republican’s pledge comes after a bombshell report was released by the New York Times, stating Axne was one of at least 97 members of Congress who “bought or sold stock, bonds or other financial assets that intersected with their congressional work or reported similar transactions by their spouse or a dependent child.”

Axne reportedly traded assets with 43 companies with 13 potential conflicts, as she sits on the Agriculture Committee, the Financial Services Committee, and the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance.

The report noted that the most alarming trades were when the congresswoman and her husband reportedly made four purchases of Wells Fargo stock while one of the committees she sits on — the House Financial Services Committee — was investigating the bank over fake accounts and other misdeeds.

Axne’s office “declined to comment” on the Times’ inquiry into the matter at the time.

During Nunn’s call with reporters, he called on Axne to take the same pledge after the Times report said she had made questionable trades with potential conflicts of interest.

“We call on Cindy Axne and her husband to make the same commitment, disclose her stock trades, and clearly there are these alleged conflicts of interest, both her and her husband,” he said.

“Elected officials both in the Senate and the House of Representatives cannot trade stocks that we personally benefited them with insider information,” Nunn continued. “It’s important that these individuals are held accountable and prioritize the interests of their responsibilities together now their personal interests to make a profit.”

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss and Truth Social @JacobBliss.