Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act of 2025
The Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act of 2025 would bar Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning, trading, or maintaining assets tied to defense contractors. It requires immediate divestment of any covered assets (with specific deadlines for current and new Members) and imposes civil penalties for violations. The bill also tightens tax treatment on divestitures, clarifies which assets are exempt, and directs ethics committees to provide interpretive guidance. The core aim is to reduce conflicts of interest by preventing lawmakers and their families from financially benefiting from military industry investments. In practice, the bill would force sale of stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, and other securities whose value is significantly based on defense contractors or defense-related entities, with limited narrowly defined exceptions. It also disallows using a blind trust to satisfy divestment requirements. Enforcement would be through civil actions, and the bill changes how gains from divestment are treated for Members of Congress and their spouses in the Internal Revenue Code.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition and scope: Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children may not hold financial interests in or trade securities tied to “covered defense contractors” or other defense-industry entities; divestment is required unless an exception applies.
- 2Divestment timelines: Current Members and their families must divest within 120 days (or 180 days for certain complex investments like hedge funds/private funds) if the asset is tied to a DoD contractor that performed in the prior five years. New Members and their families have similar deadlines after joining Congress; assets received during service must be divested within 120 days.
- 3Exceptions: Allows certain investments such as diversified widely held funds that meet diversification criteria and do not indicate a concentration in defense contractors, Treasury securities, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act stock, and retirement funds that are diversified and held in government or other plans. Blind trusts do not count as divestment.
- 4Penalties and enforcement: Violations can trigger civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, enforceable by the Attorney General or the Special Counsel.
- 5Tax treatment changes: The bill amends the tax code to deny favorable gain recognition for divestments by Members of Congress and to require a certificate of divestiture (potentially involving ethics committees) for compliance. These tax changes apply to sales after enactment.