Donald Trump’s massive economic policy U-turn is raising concerns of insider trading — and Democrats are sounding the alarm. Trump has a track record of corruption, and has made it clear that he’s more interested in lining the pockets of his billionaire backers than anything else. Hardworking Americans deserve better than Trump’s chaotic agenda, which is playing political games with their dollars and plunging the country into “financial chaos.”

After tanking the economy and promising his tariff policy “will never change,” Trump abruptly changed course.  

Trump: “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE.” 

Trump: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT”

Trump: “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE … effective immediately.” 

Trump and his shadow President Elon Musk profited from the move, which immediately caused markets to briefly surge before tanking again. 

Fortune: “Trump Media and Technology Group [also] … soared over 20% on the day.” 

The Hill: “The Senate Democrats highlighted that Tesla, the company led by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s advisers, gained 18 percent in value immediately following Trump’s announcement.”  

CNBC: “Dow surges 2,900 points, S&P 500 posts biggest gain since 2008 on Trump tariff reversal” 

Associated Press: “US stocks dive as euphoria on Wall Street reverts to fear about US-China trade war”

Trump’s actions are raising major concerns about insider trading and market manipulation to help his ultra-rich allies.

ABC News: “Democratic senators call for probe into possible insider trading over Trump tariff reversal” 

“Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., sent a letter to Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday asking for an investigation into potential conflicts of interest over the actions that took place Wednesday.”

TIME: “The timing of Trump’s announcement—and the market rally that followed—has raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill. ‘When my own barber asks me whether Donald Trump is selling short or doing this to try to make money for himself, it shows that a lot of people are pretty suspicious about what’s going on,’ Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, tells TIME on Wednesday. … 

“Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, when asked by TIME on Wednesday if Trump should be investigated for potential market manipulation, said: ‘It’s a great question. He certainly had a lot to gain. I hadn’t thought of that.’ … 

“Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat, was one of the first to question whether the tariff pause was tied to market manipulation, as the news came out in the middle of a heated hearing with Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, who had vigorously defended the tariffs.” 

Fortune: “AOC and Elizabeth Warren demand answers on ‘insider trading’ and ‘market manipulation’ allegations after Trump’s tariff U-turn sparks stock surge” 

“Thanks to the volatility, anyone with advance knowledge of the administration’s plans could make a killing on the market. Now, Democrats are questioning whether their Republican peers did just that. …

“Shortly before the announcement, there was a flurry of call options buying in the derivatives market for exchange traded funds passively tracking equity indexes like the SPDR S&P 500 and Invesco QQQ that moves in tandem with the Nasdaq 100.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now.

“I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor.

“Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things.” 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “[R]ight before Donald Trump declared that some of his tariffs were ‘off’ again — he sent out a message to his billionaire buddies. He posted’“this is a great time to buy’ in all caps. Was that market manipulation? Was it corruption in plain sight? We need an independent investigation into market manipulation because Americans need to know whether President Trump or anyone in his administration manipulated the market to benefit their donors – all while they are working for the American people and while small businesses and those working families paid the price.” 

Chad Pergram, Fox News: “Jeffries on if there was stock manipulation going on in relation to the tariffs/markets yesterday:

“We need to get to bottom of possible stock manipulation that is going on… including if any members of the House Republican Conference had advance knowledge..people are going to have to pay the piper with disclosure”