Democratic Congressman Blames Technology Hiccup for STOCK Act Violation

Rep. Christian Menefee entered Congress this year vowing to sell off his individual stock holdings. The Texas Democrat has advocated for banning members of Congress and their family members from trading individual stocks and has co-sponsored legislation to that end.

While he’s made good on those promises, Menefee also just became the latest member of Congress to violate a federal financial transparency and insider trading law when he disclosed five stock sales weeks past a 45-day federal deadline, according to a NOTUS review of .

Menefee blamed a technological hiccup for the STOCK Act snafu.

“This reporting issue was not an effort to hide anything. Quite the opposite,” Menefee told NOTUS. “I disclosed the transactions, completed the reports and believed they had been submitted. As a brand-new member still learning the filing system, I mistakenly left the reports in draft status instead of hitting the final submit button. As soon as I realized what happened, I immediately filed the reports and notified the [House] Ethics Committee.”

The late disclosures include stock in Berkshire Hathaway and Pinterest together worth from $47,005 to $180,000. (Federal lawmakers are only required to disclose the values of their stock trades in broad ranges.) Menefee’s wife, Kaitlyn, receives restricted stock units on a quarterly basis as part of her compensation as a Pinterest employee, and the Menefees sell this stock within a week of the stock units vesting and being eligible for sale, the congressman explained.

The House Ethics Committee’s STOCK Act states that members of Congress are “personally responsible for incomplete and inaccurate information” related to their financial disclosure reports. The standard fine for a first-time STOCK Act violation is $200.

Menefee said he contacted the House Ethics Committee on Monday night and “explained the circumstances surrounding the inadvertent filing mistake and submitted a request for a waiver of the associated late filing fee.”

Menefee said the “process is currently ongoing. … If the waiver is denied, I will pay the applicable fee.”During the past 12 months, more than two dozen federal lawmakers have reportedly violated the STOCK Act, including then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama, Susan Collins of Maine, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

In the House, STOCK Act violators include Reps. Linda Sánchez of California, Julia Letlow of Louisiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Lisa McClain of Michigan, Pat Ryan of New York, Sheri Biggs of South Carolina, Donald Norcross of New Jersey, Rich McCormick of Georgia, Ritchie Torres of New York, Troy Nehls of Texas, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, George Whitesides of California, Val Hoyle of Oregon, Austin Scott of Georgia, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, Kelly Morrison of Minnesota, Ed Case of Hawaii and Scott Franklin of Florida. Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma was also late, although his office denies it.

Other members — such as Reps. Cleo Fields of Louisiana, Dave Taylor of Ohio, Tim Moore of North Carolina and Byron Donalds of Florida — have reported making personal financial trades with notably political timing.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump also disclosed making thousands of individual stock trades together worth millions of dollars during early 2026. Some of Trump’s trades coincided with favorable regulatory decisions affecting the companies in which the president invested. Trump also invested in companies that have massive contracts with the federal government.

In February, Menefee won Texas’ Houston-centered 18th Congressional District seat in a special election to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in office last year. In May, Menefee defeated long-time Rep. Al Green in a primary runoff to win the Democratic nomination in a redrawn 18th District.

Menefee said he no longer owns any individual stocks and will continue advocating for a ban on congressional stock trading.

“Public service should be about serving the people you represent, not managing a stock portfolio,” he said.