by David Lindfield
Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill Wednesday that would have required voter identification nationwide and banned members of Congress from trading stocks, two policies supported by overwhelming majorities of Americans.
The Stop Insider Trading Act passed the House earlier this month despite opposition from most House Democrats.
It failed in the Senate after Democrats rejected the legislation’s voter ID provisions as too aggressive while arguing that its stock trading restrictions were not strong enough.
The defeat denies Republicans two major policy victories just weeks before the November midterm elections.
Voters Overwhelmingly Support Both Policies
Polling shows broad bipartisan support for preventing lawmakers from trading stocks using information unavailable to the public.
A 2023 University of Maryland poll found that 86% of Americans supported a congressional stock trading ban.
Voter ID requirements are nearly as popular.
A 2025 Pew Research Center poll found that 83% of Americans favored “requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.”
Despite that support, Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked the SAVE America Act and other Republican efforts to establish federal voter identification requirements.
Attempts to ban congressional stock trading have also stalled amid disputes inside both parties over how far the restrictions should extend.
Schumer Calls Voter ID A ‘Poison Pill’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Republicans of deliberately combining the two popular policies to force Democrats into an uncomfortable vote.
“They don’t want this bill to become law,” Schumer insisted.
“So they put a poison pill in that they knew would tank it.”
“It’s really trickery. Skullduggery,” Schumer added.