Rep. Tom Kean Jr. wants his constituents to know: He doesn’t approve of lawmakers trading individual stocks.
In taxpayer-funded mailers sent this month to residents of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, his office makes clear: “Kean backed legislation to prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks.”
Unmentioned in the “public trust”-themed mailer is the fact that Kean ranks among Congress’ most prolific stock traders.
With the aid of financial advisers, Kean has bought or sold individual stocks at least 44 times this year, placing him among the top 10 House lawmakers in terms of individual transactions, according to an analysis of lawmakers’ trades by The Washington Sun.
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Kean has traded stocks every single month this year, including throughout the nearly four-month stretch when he disappeared from office with little explanation, according to disclosures made in January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August. Kean later revealed that he underwent treatment for depression during his absence.
The congressman’s stock trades “are initiated and made by third-party advisors with no input from Rep. Kean,” per the disclosures. Each disclosure bears Kean’s digital signature, indicating he is aware of what stocks he owns or that an adviser sold stocks on his behalf.
“I do not direct, influence, approve, or participate in a single investment decision,” Kean said in a statement to The Sun. “I have placed my investable assets in a completely blind structure managed entirely by independent financial professionals, and transactions occur without my input, prior knowledge, or direction. I have held myself to the single highest standard, and I am fighting to hold every politician to a higher standard.”
When Kean first arrived in Congress in 2023, he pledged to put his millions in a “qualified blind trust” — a highly restrictive financial arrangement approved by the House Ethics Committee — but ultimately declined to do so.
As the mailer advertises, Kean “backed legislation to prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks.” The Stop Insider Trading Act passed the House in July on a largely party-line vote, with most Democrats arguing the bill did not go far enough to tackle congressional conflicts of interest and the threat of corruption.
The bill would prohibit members of Congress from buying individual stocks in publicly traded companies — in effect barring lawmakers such as Kean from signing off on future stock purchases like the ones that have transformed his portfolio throughout this year.
The mailers Kean sent his constituents are “franked” — a permissible form of communication from members’ offices to constituents using taxpayer funds. Lawmakers often use franked mail to tout their positions or accomplishments ahead of elections.
Franked communications may not, however, contain overt campaign messages, such as requests to oppose an election-season rival. They also may not be sent out less than 60 days before an election; Kean’s mailers were approved 67 days before the midterm election.
Kean is in a tight race against Democrat and former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett. Federal records indicate that Bennett sold off her individual stock holdings in 2024.
“My husband and I divested all of our individual stocks, I’m not taking a dime from corporate PACs and I will fight for a full stock trading ban for members of Congress because I want New Jerseyans to know exactly who I serve,” Bennett said in a statement to The Sun.
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