Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act of 2025: No More Defense Stock for Congress & Families

This bill cuts off a potential money-making avenue for members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children: owning or trading stock in defense contractors. Basically, it's designed to make sure lawmakers aren't influenced by their personal financial interests when making decisions about war and defense spending.

Cutting the Financial Ties

The core of the Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act of 2025 is a ban. It prevents members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent kids from holding or trading any stocks, bonds, or other securities tied to defense contractors. Think of companies that build weapons, military vehicles, or provide other defense-related services. The bill says, 'You can't make money off these companies while you're making decisions that affect them.' (SEC. 2.)

• Real-World Example: Imagine a Senator on the Armed Services Committee. Under this law, they (and their family) couldn't own stock in Lockheed Martin or Raytheon. This is to avoid any chance that their votes on defense contracts could be swayed by how it might affect their personal bank account.

The Divestment Deadline

If someone is already in Congress, they have 120 days from the time this bill becomes law to get rid of any defense-related investments. For complex investments like hedge funds, it is 180 days. If you're newly elected, the clock starts ticking when you take office. Inherit some defense stock? You've got 120 days to sell. And no, you can't just put it in a blind trust – that's not considered 'divested' here. (SEC. 2.)

• Real-World Impact: This forces lawmakers to put their money where their mouth is. They can't talk about national security while potentially profiting from companies that benefit from increased defense spending.

What's Still Allowed?

Not everything is off-limits. The bill makes exceptions for:

• Diversified mutual funds: If you're invested in a broad fund that happens to include some defense stocks, that's okay, as long as the fund is not concentrated in defense contractors. (SEC. 2.)
• U.S. Treasury bills and bonds: Investing in the government itself is still fine. (SEC. 2.)
• Government retirement plans: Your standard federal employee retirement account is exempt. (SEC. 2.)

Penalties and Taxes

Break the rules? You could face a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation. The Attorney General or a Special Counsel can bring the hammer down. (SEC. 2.)

On the tax side, there's a bit of a break. If you're forced to sell off investments because of this law, you can defer paying capital gains taxes on those sales. (SEC. 2.)

The Bottom Line

The Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act of 2025 is about cleaning up potential conflicts of interest. The idea is that when lawmakers are making decisions about war and defense, they should be thinking about the national interest, not their own investment portfolios. The bill uses specific timelines and penalties to make sure that happens, and it's designed to increase public trust by ensuring that those in power aren't personally profiting from decisions related to war.