Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison violated a federal transparency law by improperly disclosing seven figures worth of personal investments, according to a NOTUS review of congressional financial records.
The records indicate the congresswoman from Minnesota was months — and in one case, more than a year — late reporting that she had made eight financial trades together worth from $1.41 million to $2.91 million. (Lawmakers are only required to report the values of their trades in broad ranges.)
Most of the trades involve sales of equity stakes in the Andersen Corporation, a privately held company that manufactures windows and doors. Morrison’s trades also include purchases of equity interest in Cavall, an equine industry software company, and Flux, an artificial intelligence hardware company.
Under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, members of Congress generally must publicly report certain financial trades no later than 45 days after making them. Morrison’s office acknowledged the congresswoman’s disclosures were tardy but blamed the delay on an investment manager.
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“Rep. Morrison’s portfolio is managed by an investment manager. She had no prior knowledge of these transactions before they occurred, and they were discovered during a yearly audit for her financial disclosure,” Morrison spokesperson Liz Smalley told NOTUS. “The reporting processes have been updated with the investment manager to ensure all future transactions will be reported on time.”
The STOCK Act makes no distinction between a federal lawmaker personally executing a financial trade and an investment manager or financial adviser executing a trade on the lawmaker’s behalf. The onus of STOCK Act compliance is squarely on the member of Congress.
“You are personally responsible for incomplete and inaccurate information contained in your [financial reports], regardless of who assisted in preparation,” according to the House Committee on Ethics.
The standard fine for a STOCK Act-related disclosure violation is $200. Morrison’s office confirmed she would pay any fine issued by the committee.
Tom Rust, chief counsel for the House Committee on Ethics, declined to comment on Morrison’s trades.
Since July, more than 20 federal lawmakers have reportedly violated the STOCK Act, including then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Susan Collins of Maine.
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 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.
So has Morrison: In March, she disclosed investing between $15,001 and $50,000 in Saronic Technologies, a federal defense contractor that specializes in autonomous naval vessels. Morrison’s investment came nine days after the beginning of the United States’ war with Iran.
Congress is actively considering legislation that would bar federal lawmakers from trading individual stocks, as many Democrats and Republicans have expressed concerns about the potential for insider trading, financial conflicts of interest and the rampant disclosure-related violations of the STOCK Act.
While several bills limiting congressional stock trading have been introduced, a measure backed by Republican leadership, dubbed the Stop Insider Trading Act, has the most momentum at this point, having advanced out of a House committee in January. But there’s been little movement as of late as Congress grapples with a partial government shutdown, the war in Iran and the 2026 midterm elections.
Morrison hasn’t been outspoken about banning members of Congress from trading stocks and similar investments, although she has signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Restore Trust in Government Act — at present, a bill backed only by Democrats that would ban lawmakers and various executive branch officials from buying, selling or owning individual stocks.
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