Senate Democrats have launched their first major offensive against Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet, demanding an investigation into whether his nominee for health secretary broke laws regarding insider trading.

The senators cited a Wall Street Journal report that said over the past four years the Georgia congressman Tom Price had traded more than $300,000 in shares in about 40 healthcare companies while pushing legislation in Congress that could influence the stock prices of those companies.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, cited the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, which prohibits members of Congress and their employees from using inside information trading for personal benefit.

“There’s enough evidence here that cries out for an investigation,” Schumer told reporters on Capitol Hill.

“Whether the law was actually broken, whether there was quid pro quos, or inside information is a better way to put it, we don’t know. But there’s enough information here that it should be investigated before Congressman Price comes up for a hearing.”

Schumer added: “If there would ever be an example of the swamp that President-elect Trump promised to clear out, it would be congressmen [and] senators using the inside information they had to benefit themselves personally by buying stock.

We’re going to hold people accountable, and this is a glaring example of the need for accountability and oversight Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader

“We’re an accountability Congress, we’re going to hold people accountable, and this is a glaring example of the need for accountability and oversight.”

Price, who has long advocated repealing Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, is among eight choices for Trump’s administration whom Democrats aim to scrutinise closely. Schumer’s announcement came a day after the battle over the future of Obamacare began in earnest.

In the last Congress, the Wall Street Journal reported, Price sponsored nine health-related bills and co-sponsored 35. “Congressman Price didn’t simply vote on healthcare bills when they came to the House floor,” Schumer said. “He championed them.”

In August 2016, the Journal reported, Price made his single largest stock buy, purchasing between $50,000 and $100,000 of shares in an Australian biomedical firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics. According to the company’s annual report, the largest shareholder in the company is the New York Republican congressman Chris Collins, a member of the Trump transition team.

Since August, Innate Immunotherapeutics stock has more than doubled. During this time, Price has continued serving as chair of the House budget committee, which plays an important role in shaping health legislation.

“He’s likely to have made tens of thousands of dollars on one of these trades alone,” Schumer said. “Every American should be shocked by this.”

A letter released on Thursday by the government watchdog Public Citizen called for an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). This week, House Republicans tried to gut the latter body before climbing down under public pressure.

Schumer said the OCE should conduct an investigation before Senate confirmation hearings begin. “If it takes a while, then Congressman Price’s nomination should wait a while,” he said.

Such an investigation would not have been possible, Schumer added, if Republicans had gone ahead with their plan to gut the OCE.



The confirmation hearing for Price has not yet been scheduled.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington told the same press conference: “We want to know who he met with and when, whether the transactions in question were initiated by a broker or by Congressman Price himself, what, if any, non-public information Congressman Price had when those transactions were made and exactly how much profit he made from each transaction.”



Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said: “There’s enough here that if you’re serious about oversight, you can’t simply say it’s a coincidence and move on. It’s paramount that these questions are answered and the American public is assured that no one has abused their official position for personal profit.

“We’re making it clear the Senate is out of the rubber-stamping business. Not going to happen any more.”

In response to the Wall Street Journal report, Trump transition spokesman Phil Blando said Price “complied fully with all applicable laws and ethics rules governing his personal finances” and would comply with the law if confirmed.

Regarding the move by Senate Democrats, Blando said in a statement to the Associated Press on Thursday the politicians’ demands were a “stunt” to distract attention from the failures of Obamacare.

Price, a surgeon and conservative, was “uniquely qualified” to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Blando said.



Blando added that the Democratic senators Tom Carper of Delaware, Mark Warner of Virginia and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island had also traded valuable health-related stocks.

“Hypocrisy is apparently alive and well this morning in Washington,” he said.

