I'm also not going to defend Congressional stock trading. I think it should be banned. But there are some differences about who is doing the trading/betting, what specifically they are trading/betting on, and what that information communicates to the public. There's a fundamental difference between a random staffer betting the US will attack Iran on a certain date which becomes public immediately compared to a Congressperson themselves buying stock in a weapon manufacturer in the leadup to an attack knowing the purchase won't be disclosed to the public for up to 45 days.
Like I said, I would be against both, but it's much easier to justify Congressional stock trading than the insider trading we see on these prediction markets. Afterall, it isn't like Congress is moving to remove all insider trading legislation, so there is some recognition of nuance here even if they give themselves more leeway than we would want.
>people close to the administration.