Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents a massive chunk of Silicon Valley, has reportedly seen his stock portfolio surge by 112 percent. That's not a typo. The Democrat from California's 17th district has been absolutely crushing it in the market — and that should prompt some uncomfortable questions regardless of which party you belong to.
Now, in fairness, context matters. As one Bay Area resident pointed out, much of Khanna's gains appear to come from Nvidia shares purchased back in 2017, well before the AI boom turned the chipmaker into a Wall Street darling. That's less "insider trading" and more "being a congressman who lives in the backyard of the most consequential tech companies on the planet." Buying Nvidia in Silicon Valley in 2017 is like buying real estate in the Marina in 2010 — it's not exactly a galaxy-brain move.
But here's the thing: it doesn't really matter whether Khanna got lucky, got smart, or got information the rest of us didn't. The fundamental problem is that members of Congress continue to trade individual stocks while simultaneously writing the laws, regulations, and tax policy that directly affect those companies' bottom lines. The fox isn't just guarding the henhouse — he's got a brokerage account linked to it.
Khanna, to his credit, has at times voiced support for stock trading restrictions for members of Congress. But voicing support and actually passing legislation are two very different things, and Congress has shown a remarkable bipartisan talent for dragging its feet on this issue. Funny how that works.
And before anyone makes this a partisan food fight — this isn't a left-right issue. Members on both sides of the aisle have been suspiciously good at beating the market. As one local noted, the current administration's allies have their own eyebrow-raising trading histories. The system is broken for everyone.
The fix is simple: mandatory blind trusts or index funds for every sitting member of Congress. No exceptions, no delays, no loopholes. If you want the privilege of writing the rules for the American economy, you shouldn't also get to place side bets on the outcome. A 112 percent return is great for Ro Khanna's retirement. It's terrible for public trust.

