UFC commentator Joe Rogan, the host of the mega-popular The Joe Rogan Experience, has never shied away from expressing his views on various issues.
In a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan discussed the fact that members of the United States Congress are allowed to trade stocks and invest in companies they are supposed to regulate.
Speaking with comedian Greg Fitzsimmons, Rogan argued that what lawmakers are doing amounts to insider trading, which is illegal.
Per Mediaite, Rogan lamented about "the amount of stock trading that’s done by members of Congress... the amount of money that they make when they know decisions that are going to be signed and passed."
Members of Congress aren't barred from trading stocks while in office, and many do so, along with their immediate family members.
Rogan pointed out that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's husband bought Tesla stock before Congress passed a bill benefiting electric vehicle companies.
"Like there was one recently, they were talking about Nancy Pelosi and the amount of money she invested in Tesla right before Biden signed this EV bill. Electric vehicle bill, Rogan said.
"Well, insider trading is against the law. How is that not insider trading?" he asked.
Rogan argued that it is absurd this practice is not outlawed, stressing that members of Congress have a huge advantage when it comes to trading stocks and often get rich because of it.
“If you know that someone’s going to sign a bill and that bill is going to be a massive boost to the electrical vehicle industry, just as an example. And you know that bill is going to be signed so right before that bill is signed, you buy a f*ck load of stock in electrical vehicles. And then the next day or whenever it was, bill gets passed and then that stock goes up and you make a sh*t ton of money."
"How is that not illegal?" he asked once again.
According to OpenSecrets, several bills that would ban members of Congress from trading stock have been introduced, but not a single one was passed.
That may soon change since more than 125 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have sponsored legislation that would outlaw the practice.
However, lawmakers are still divided on key issues since some believe members of their families should be allowed to purchase stocks.
The American people overwhelmingly support the ban. A recent poll found that just five percent of Americans believe members of Congress should be allowed to trade while in office.
