Bipartisan group of lawmakers call for hearing into Robinhood app for restricting small investors


This photo illustration shows the logos of video grame retail store GameStop and trading application Robinhood in a computer and on a mobile phone in Arlington, Virginia on January 28, 2021. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:45 PM PT – Thursday, January 28, 2021

A group of bipartisan lawmakers condemned the financial services company, ‘Robinhood,’ for restricting stock trades.

In a statement Thursday, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said, “People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt.” Brown, who is the incoming chair of the Banking and Housing Committee, said he plans to hold a hearing in response to the company’s block.

Robinhood announced it would stop the trading of ‘GameStop,’ ‘AMC,’ ‘Nokia’ and other stocks that they considered volatile. However, reports said the move only restricted small-time investors while it allowed large hedge funds to continue to buy and trade.

Sen. Brown added that Americans are aware the Wall Street system is broken and are calling on Congress and the SEC to “make the economy work for everyone.” In agreement were Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (R-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (R-Mich.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who also called for a hearing into Robinhood’s decision.

Some lawmakers took less direct stances on the issue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Biden administration and Congress members will look into the matter, but she did not say whether she found Robinhood’s decision ethical.

“Interesting, isn’t it,” Pelosi noted. “I understand that the administration is taking a look. The SEC is taking a look at what that is, but we will all be reviewing it, but interesting.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called on Robinhood to “free the traders” on social media, but did not elaborate much further on her position.

“This is something that is developing, we need to be watching this situation, we need to be paying attention to what is happening with the market,” Blackburn commented. “And I think I’ll just leave it at that.”

There has not yet been a date set for when Congress members will start a hearing, but more updates are expected in the coming days.

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