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Rulli violates federal law on stock trading

By David Skolnick 3 min read
U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem

U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli failed to timely disclose 22 stock trades, including those dating back to late 2024, in violation of a federal law designed to prevent insider trading by members of Congress.

Rulli, R-Salem, violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act though it appears to be an issue with his Merrill Lynch Managed Account broker.

Rulli's office declined to comment Tuesday.

Rulli's district includes Mahoning and Columbiana counties. He is running for reelection against Democrat Elizabeth Kirtley of New Philadelphia.

Rulli's late filing was first reported by NOTUS, a politics and government news website.

The STOCK Act, approved in 2012, requires members of Congress to disclose stock trades no later than 45 days after they occur.

Rulli's report, filed Aug. 7, shows 32 trades with 22 of them past the 45-day deadline.

That includes a Nov. 26, 2024, Pfizer Inc. stock trade, a Dec. 12, 2024, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. stock trade, and a Dec. 16, 2024, ServiceNow Inc. stock trade.

All 32 trades, including the 22 late ones, are for amounts between $1,001 and $15,000 as members of Congress are given considerable leeway in what they have to disclose.

All told, Rulli's late stock trades total between $22,022 and $330,000.

Most of Rulli's late stock trades were for technology and pharmaceutical companies.

The late trades included one for Alphabet (and two others filed on time), one for Amazon (and one other filed on time), two for Apple (and one other filed on time), one for Coca-Cola, two for Eli Lilly and Co. (and one other on time), one for GE Vernova Inc., three for Meta, two for Microsoft, two for Nvidia Corp. (and one other filed on time), one for Oracle Corp., two for Palantir Technologies Inc., and one for Prudential Financial Inc.

Rulli, a congressman since June 2024, served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce, according to its website.

Rulli is among 28 U.S. House members in the past year to violate the STOCK Act, according to NOTUS, and is the second one from Ohio, with U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, being the first.

Also, six senators have violated the act, according to NOTUS.

The House on July 22 passed the Stop Insider Trading Act that would ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying individual stocks, with Rulli voting in favor of it. The bill passed the House 232-198, with every Republican supporting it and all but 13 Democrats opposing it.

The bill prohibits the buying of new individual stocks, but allows lawmakers to hold previously owned stocks, manage certain diversified investment funds and invest in widely held mutual funds and trusts.

Democrats who voted against the bill say it doesn't go far enough as it allows members of Congress to keep and sell existing stock portfolios.

The Senate hasn't considered the bill and doesn't appear to have the votes to approve such a measure.

Starting at /week.