Washington, D.C., July 10, 2025 – New financial disclosure documents reveal that Dan Scavino, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff under President Donald Trump, sold up to $5 million worth of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) stock on April 1, one day before the Trump administration announced a sweeping set of tariffs impacting global markets.

The trades, first reported by USA TODAY and corroborated by federal disclosures, have attracted the attention of ethics watchdogs and governance experts, who point to the sensitive nexus between official government business and private financial interests. The episode underscores perennial concerns over the adequacy of US rules restricting stock trading by high-level government officials.

The Timeline: Divestments Precede Sweeping Tariffs

According to official filings obtained by USA TODAY, Scavino exercised his option to offload millions in TMTG shares on April 1. Less than 24 hours later, President Trump made headlines by announcing new tariffs on a broad swath of imports from around the world in what he termed “Liberation Day.” The market’s reaction was swift: major indices declined by 12% over the week, and Trump Media stock dropped 11% by April 9.

Alongside Scavino, Sergio Gor, the White House Presidential Personnel Office Director, sold TMTG securities valued between $15,001 and $50,000 just days earlier, on March 27. Attorney General Pam Bondi also disclosed a divestment of up to $5 million in TMTG stock on April 2, right before the tariffs triggered broad market volatility.

According to White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers, “White House senior staff, including Deputy Chief of Staff Scavino and PPO Director Gor, fully comply with executive branch ethics rules, attending required ethics briefings and complying with conflict of interest and financial reporting obligations.” Nevertheless, the close proximity between these trades and the market-moving announcement has led many to question whether the appearance of impropriety can be avoided under current regulations.

Market Fallout and Lasting Impacts

Markets tumbled after the tariff announcement on April 2, with major benchmarks and high-profile stocks suffering sharp declines. Trump Media’s share price fell from $20.26 on April 1 to $19.25 by July 8, failing to recover from the initial losses while broader indices eventually rebounded and reached new highs by July. The outflows prompted by government officials’ trades called attention to the risks of perceived conflicts of interest.

After Trump briefly paused the tariffs on April 9 in response to market turmoil and international pressure, the broader US markets recovered. However, TMTG’s stock remains under its pre-announcement price, reflecting ongoing investor uncertainty surrounding regulatory risks and political influence at the company.

Legal Background: The STOCK Act and Disclosure Rules

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 prohibits senior government officials and members of Congress from trading securities based on nonpublic information. It also mandates that officials publicly disclose trades exceeding $1,000. The law sought to counteract complaints of congressional insider trading, but critics say loopholes still allow questionable trades that skirt the line of legality.

Virginia Canter, chief counsel at State Democracy Defenders Action and former associate counsel to Presidents Obama and Clinton, told USA TODAY, “Any stock trades by senior White House staff in the time period immediately preceding the Liberation Day announcement have to be viewed with suspicion. The facts and circumstances surrounding the trades will determine if an investigation for insider trading is merited.”

To date, no evidence has surfaced indicating Scavino, Gor, or Bondi were privy to the tariff announcement prior to acting on their stock holdings. The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) refrained from commenting on individual transactions, instead reaffirming its policy of publishing disclosures and oversight documentation as soon as practicable.

Fresh Criticism and Renewed Calls for Reform

The trades have triggered new calls for reform. Cynthia Brown, Senior Ethics Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), stated, “White House officials are supposed to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, but owning or selling shares in the sitting president’s media company does just the opposite.” Brown emphasized that, even absent illegal activity, such activity shakes public trust in government.

Experts have advocated for stricter measures, such as requiring top government officials to hold their assets in blind trusts or limiting them to broadly diversified index funds while in service. Proposals to strengthen the STOCK Act or introduce new legislation, such as the Ban Conflicted Trading Act deliberated in 2024, have failed to advance in Congress amid partisan gridlock.

Trump Media and Administration Connection

The latest disclosures confirm that several members of the Trump administration held stock in TMTG before divesting as required by ethics agreements. Dan Scavino, for example, received $860,000 in consulting fees from the company from 2021 through January 2025, before taking up his White House role. Pam Bondi’s sale was also tied to her Senate confirmation, which mandated a 90-day window for divestment in line with her Office of Government Ethics agreement.

The intertwining of Trump’s business interests with his presidency has drawn heightened scrutiny after analysts highlighted the president’s surging net worth — reportedly doubling to $5.4 billion in part thanks to these holdings, as per Bloomberg. President Trump’s financial disclosures show continued earnings from his social media platform, Truth Social, as well as from crypto ventures and branded merchandise.

Looking Ahead: Regulatory and Market Stakes

The current episode highlights ongoing regulatory gaps in how the US manages financial conflicts among its senior officials. With the 2025 election cycle heating up and economic policy high on the agenda, both the market and the public remain sensitive to perceived abuses of inside knowledge or improper self-enrichment by policymakers.

This situation underscores broader challenges facing US capital markets: balancing transparency, ethical conduct, and investor confidence amid rising political and economic volatility.