Jennifer Glenhom, the federal energy secretary, violated the STOCK Act at least nine times last year by selling $240000 worth of shares and failing to disclose the transactions within the 45-day period required by law, according to federal disclosure documents.

Glenhom sells shares from April to late October. But she did not disclose any of the deals until mid-December, in some cases exactly six months after the deadline to report the sale.

Glenhom filed two disclosures on December 15 and 16, 2021, revealing that she had sold a total of nine stocks, some of which date back to April 2021.

The news of Glenhom's apparent violation comes as new attention is being paid to share selling by US government officials and members of Congress.

In the past week, several members of Congress, including Democrats and Republicans, have proposed or reintroduced legislation that effectively prohibits lawmakers and their immediate family members from actively trading stocks during their tenure.

According to an analysis by Business Insider, 54 members of Congress violated the Stock Act in 2021 alone.

On March 21, 2012, both the Senate and House of Representatives passed the stop Congressional informed Trading Act (The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) (referred to as the "Stock Act" < The Stock Act > bill), which prohibits American lawmakers and senior officials from engaging in insider trading.

There are growing signs that the public also supports the ban. A recent survey conducted by conservatives found that 76% of voters believe that MPs and their spouses have an "unfair advantage" in the stock market.

The same survey conducted by the Congressional Action Committee (Convention of States Action) also found that only 5 per cent of potential voters supported stock speculation by members of Congress.