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Presidential Corruption Reforms: Every Bill on the Table, by Number

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The presidential corruption reforms now on file in Congress fall into six groups: foreign payments (emoluments), crypto ventures by officeholders, pardons, the criminal statute of limitations, inspector general independence and stock trading. Every one is a proposal; no chamber had sent any of them to the president by late October 2026. What each could achieve turns on the midterm results, on the 60-vote Senate rule for most bills, and on a president’s veto pen.

Where it stands: The newest entries came in summer 2026: the No Payoffs for Pardons Act (S. 5212, with a House twin, H.R. 10032) in August and the Pardon Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 9860) in July. A CNBC poll released October 23 found 93% of voters oppose officials trading stocks in federal contractors.

Which presidential corruption reforms target foreign payments?

The Constitution already has a rule. The Foreign Emoluments Clause says no federal officeholder may, “without the Consent of the Congress,” accept any present or “Emolument” from “any King, Prince, or foreign State.” What it lacks is a clear enforcement path: the lawsuits over Trump’s first-term businesses were dismissed as moot in 2021 without a final ruling on the merits.

In mid-April 2026, Rep. Jamie Raskin led House Judiciary Democrats in filing two resolutions on the clauses. One, per the committee’s release, targets “the $500 million investment deal between a firm tied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Trump’s family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.” The other, H.Res. 1185, addresses Trump’s legal claims against the government under the Domestic Emoluments Clause.

Both are “sense of the House” resolutions. They would not change the law even if passed. On a separate World Liberty request in August, CNN reported, the White House rejected Democratic criticism and said: “There are no conflicts of interest.”

What would the crypto bans do?

Two bills would stop top officials from issuing or promoting digital assets.

  • MEME Act, H.R. 1712 (Rep. Sam Liccardo, introduced in February 2025), formally the “Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act.” It amends federal ethics law on “prohibited financial transactions.” Sen. Chris Murphy filed a Senate version and called Trump’s meme coin “the most unethical thing a U.S. president has ever done.”
  • S. 1668, the 2025 End Crypto Corruption Act (Sen. Jeff Merkley with Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and others). Its text defines the banned conduct as “any issuance, sponsorship, or endorsement of a cryptocurrency, meme coin, token, non-fungible token, stablecoin, or other digital asset that is sold for remuneration.” Its reach extends to Senate-confirmed appointees and to lawmakers as well as the two top executive officers, and it was placed on the Senate calendar.

Neither has had a floor vote in the sources we checked.

How would the pardon bills work?

Pardon reform is the busiest category, and the hardest, because Congress cannot directly limit a power the Constitution gives the president. Bills therefore go around the edges: disclosure, bribery law, or a constitutional amendment. Our pardon reform bills explainer goes deeper; individual clemency grants are listed in our pardon tracker.

Proposal Sponsor(s) What it would do Hurdle
No Payoffs for Pardons Act, S. 5212 / H.R. 10032 Sen. Schumer with Blumenthal, Cortez Masto, Hirono, Schiff; Rep. Joe Morelle Recipients disclose things of value over $10,000; expand bribery law (per Campaign Legal Center) Both chambers, 60 Senate votes, signature
Pardon Transparency and Accountability Act, H.R. 9860 (House companion to S. 256) Reps. Dave Min, Suhas Subramanyam; Sen. Richard Blumenthal Published “statement of reasons for pardons”; clemency lobbying disclosure Same
Protecting Our Democracy Act, H.R. 8831 Rep. Jamie Raskin Self-pardon “void and of no effect”; new bribery section for pardons Same; self-pardon clause may face constitutional challenge
H.J.Res. 135 (constitutional amendment) Rep. Olszewski (D) and Rep. Bacon (R) Congress could move to nullify a pardon within 30 days of notice Two-thirds of both houses, then three-fourths of states
H.J.Res. 13 (constitutional amendment) Rep. Steve Cohen Bars self-pardons and pardons of family and staff Same as above

The Campaign Legal Center, which backs S. 5212, says it “would require pardon recipients disclose anything of value above $10,000 that they provided” to the president’s interests. H.J.Res. 135 is notable for having a Republican cosponsor. Its text says Congress “may, within 30 days, introduce a Bill to nullify the Reprieve or Pardon.”

Amendments face the steepest climb. Article V requires that “two thirds of both Houses” propose an amendment and that three-fourths of the states ratify it.

Would pausing the statute of limitations help?

Federal prosecutors generally have five years to charge most crimes. The Justice Department’s view that a sitting president cannot be indicted means that clock can run out while a president is in office. Two bills would stop it.

Sen. Adam Schiff’s S. 2838 (September 2025) and Raskin’s H.R. 8831 (May 2026) both say a president’s or vice president’s “tenure in such office shall not be considered for purposes of any period of limitations” for federal crimes. Whether that could apply to time already elapsed is a separate legal question our sources do not resolve. More detail is in our guide to the Protecting Our Democracy Act.

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What about inspectors general and an anti-corruption agency?

Congress already tightened IG removal rules once. CRS says amendments to the IG Act “were enacted in December 2022,” requiring detailed, case-specific reasons and limiting paid leave during the 30-day notice period. A federal judge said in 2025 that the January 2025 removals of 17 IGs likely broke the notice rule, but declined to reinstate them. We did not find a new IG-independence bill number for the current Congress in a source we could verify.

Schumer has proposed a bigger structural change. Fox News Digital reported in July 2026 that his bill “would establish the Anti-Corruption Bureau, a new agency that would have subpoena power and could investigate the Trump administration even once Trump leaves office.” We could not confirm its bill number.

Is a stock-trading ban still alive?

It stalled, but the politics favor it. The Hill reported that a bipartisan House bill from Republican Chip Roy of Texas and Democrat Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island stopped moving after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pressed for the ban to cover the executive branch too.

Voters appear to agree on the broad idea. In CNBC’s October survey, 93% said officials should not be allowed to own or trade shares in companies with federal contracts, and 89% said companies tied to a sitting president’s immediate family should not get federal contracts.

Not on this list: Supreme Court ethics or term-limit bills, and the Warren-Garcia Stop Ballroom Bribery Act. All have been discussed publicly, but we could not verify their bill numbers in a readable source, so we leave them out of the table. Every reform here would also need to survive a presidential veto, which takes two-thirds of each chamber to override. The underlying conduct is catalogued on the Trump corruption tracker, item by item with each response.

Frequently Asked Questions

What bills would stop presidential corruption?

Pending proposals include the MEME Act (H.R. 1712) and End Crypto Corruption Act (S. 1668) on crypto, the No Payoffs for Pardons Act (S. 5212 and H.R. 10032), the Pardon Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 9860), the Protecting Our Democracy Act (H.R. 8831 and S. 2838), and constitutional amendments H.J.Res. 13 and H.J.Res. 135. None has been enacted.

Can Congress limit the presidential pardon power?

Not directly by statute, according to long-standing Supreme Court precedent. Bills instead regulate disclosure and bribery around pardons. A firm limit would take a constitutional amendment, which needs two-thirds of both houses and ratification by three-fourths of the states.

Is there a law banning presidents from crypto?

No. The MEME Act and the End Crypto Corruption Act would bar the president and other top officials from issuing or endorsing digital assets, but neither has passed.

Would Democrats need a supermajority to pass these reforms?

Most bills need 60 Senate votes to overcome a filibuster, and any bill a president vetoes needs two-thirds of both chambers to override. Constitutional amendments need two-thirds of Congress plus 38 states.

Does the Foreign Emoluments Clause apply to the president?

The clause bars anyone holding an office of profit or trust from accepting foreign-government presents or emoluments without the consent of Congress. Courts have not issued a final merits ruling applying it to Trump; the first-term suits were dismissed as moot.

Sources

This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.

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