One Lawmaker Made 97% of All Congressional Stock Trades This Week

Of the 91 congressional stock trades filed between September 25 and October 2, 88 came from one lawmaker. Kevin Hern (R-OK), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed 88 trades, accounting for 97% of the week's activity. The remaining three trades were filed by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee.

The week's largest single trade was also Hern's: an exchange of ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) with a midpoint value of roughly $750,000. Across all his filings, Hern sold 87 positions and bought just two, a pattern consistent with his previous quarterly disclosures, which show a portfolio heavily weighted toward energy and industrial names.

Kevin Hern's 88 Trades

Hern's filings this week covered 45 different stocks, with the heaviest activity in The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), each with six trades, all sells. He also sold five positions in Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) and four in The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX).

Hern's trading is notable for its volume, but not for its timing. He has filed trades in each of the last several quarters, often in clusters, and his disclosures do not show a pattern of trading around committee markups or major legislative votes. The STOCK Act requires lawmakers to report trades within 45 days, and Hern's filings this week cover transactions that occurred in late September.

His two buys were small relative to his sells. The largest purchase was in ONEOK, Inc. (OKE), part of the same exchange that produced his largest trade. The other buy was in a separate energy stock, also a modest position.

Sheldon Whitehouse's Three Trades

Whitehouse filed three trades, all sells. He sold positions in Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), Devon Energy Corporation (DVN), and The Home Depot, Inc. (HD). Each was in the $1,001 to $15,000 range, according to his disclosure. Whitehouse has been a consistent filer, though his trading frequency is lower than Hern's. He has not reported any buys in the past two quarters.

Top Stocks by Trade Count

The most traded stocks this week were The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), each with six trades, all sells. Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) followed with five sells. The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) had four sells, and ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) had four trades, two of which were the Hern exchange.

These stocks are common in congressional portfolios. Home Depot and TJX are retail names that appear in many lawmakers' disclosures. Boston Scientific is a medical device maker with a large institutional following. Devon Energy and ONEOK are both energy companies with significant operations in Oklahoma, Hern's home state.

What the Data Shows

The week's 91 trades came from just two lawmakers, a sharp drop from the 300-plus trades that are typical in a full week when Congress is in session. The concentration in Hern's filings is unusual, but not unprecedented. In previous weeks, other members have filed large batches after a quarter ends, often to clear positions before a committee deadline.

Hern's 88 trades represent a quarter-end cleanup. His sells span multiple sectors, but the common thread is that he is reducing exposure. The two buys, both in energy, suggest he is not exiting the sector entirely.

Whitehouse's three sells are smaller and less clustered. He filed them on the same day, which is common for lawmakers who batch their disclosures.

For context, the STOCK Act, passed in 2012, requires lawmakers to disclose trades over $1,000 within 45 days. The law also requires public reporting of those disclosures, which is how these trades become visible. The latest congressional trades are updated daily on this site.

Most active members this week

Most traded stocks

Largest trades of the week