Republicans and Democrats both hit out at the brokerage for restricting retail investor trades.
The trading app Robinhood has come under fire from all angles after it barred investors from buying shares in GameStop as they tried to squeeze short-seller hedge funds that targeted the video game retailer. Republicans and Democrats called for congressional investigations into the brokerage firm’s decision to block retail investors from piling the pressure on Wall Street funds that betted GameStop’s share price would fall. The White House also said it was monitoring the situation around GameStop, and the New York attorney general said her office was „actively reviewing concerns“ about activity on the Robinhood app. Reacting to the brokerage’s move to restrict trading on GameStop, AMC, Nokia and other securities on Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted: „This is unacceptable. We now need to know more about [Robinhood’s] decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit. As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I’d support a hearing if necessary.“ Progressive lawmaker Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also weighed in on Robinhood’s actions, saying they were „absurd“ as she called on the Financial Services Committee to hold a hearing on „market manipulation“ by the trading app.
