A group of United States senators has called on the country’s financial regulator to investigate whether President Donald Trump or his inner circle violated securities laws ahead of his surprise reversal on global tariffs, which sparked a stock market rally.
Six Democratic senators, led by prominent Massachusetts lawmaker Elizabeth Warren, wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, urging an inquiry into potential insider trading and market manipulation.
Their appeal follows a post on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, early on Wednesday, in which he wrote: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Just hours later, he announced a 90-day suspension of planned tariffs affecting dozens of countries. The unexpected move triggered a surge on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 enjoying its best single-day gain since the 2008 financial crisis recovery.
They asked the watchdog to examine whether individuals close to the president, including his family, had prior knowledge of the announcement and exploited it to carry out profitable trades before it was made public.
Trump signed off his Truth Social message with “DJT” – his initials and the stock market ticker symbol for Trump Media & Technology Group, his media company, whose shares soared by more than 21 percent following the post.
The senators demanded the SEC probe whether any donors, administration officials or associates engaged in insider trading, market manipulation or other violations of US securities laws.
The SEC chairman, Paul Atkins – who has previously clashed with Senator Warren over alleged conflicts of interest – is under no legal obligation to initiate an investigation.
Concerns have grown over the expanding number of channels through which Trump and his family may profit financially while in office. Although no formal evidence of corruption has yet emerged, critics are alarmed.
In a separate incident, days before his inauguration, Trump launched a “memecoin” – a cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value—raising questions about the potential for anonymous or foreign donations to flow into his finances.
“Now anyone in the world can essentially deposit money into the bank account of the President of the United States with a couple of clicks,” remarked Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former aide, on social media.
The White House, when approached by The Washington Post, claimed that the Truth Social post was intended purely to “reassure” the public, and said the president had a duty to calm financial markets and bolster economic confidence.