Michael Guest Stock Trades — Congressional Portfolio, STOCK Act Filings & Trading Activity

Michael Guest has represented Mississippi's 3rd congressional district since January 2019. Before Congress he served as district attorney for Madison and Rankin counties from 2008 to 2018, prosecuting criminal cases across the Jackson metropolitan area. He holds a law degree from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor's from Mississippi State University. His committee assignments carry unusual weight when evaluating his stock trading activity. Guest chairs the House Committee on Ethics, which enforces the STOCK Act and investigates members for ethical violations — a role that places him at the center of congressional accountability. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and chairs its Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, and sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee that controls federal spending. In 2024, he was selected as one of the House impeachment managers for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Guest's estimated net worth is roughly $9.7 million, per NOTUS and Mississippi Today's 2026 analysis. That positions him as one of the wealthier members of Mississippi's delegation. His disclosed portfolio across stock holdings and municipal bonds totals about $540,000 in equities, with the remainder of his wealth in Mississippi municipal bonds and pooled investment securities. His congressional salary of $174,000 accounts for a small fraction of the total.

The irony is difficult to ignore: the man who chairs the committee enforcing congressional ethics rules once broke those same rules. In 2021, Business Insider reported that Guest failed to timely disclose two stock trades made through a family trust benefiting his wife and children. On January 22, 2021, the trust sold up to $15,000 in BP stock and bought up to $15,000 in Exxon Mobil stock. Guest did not file the disclosure until October 22, 2021 — more than 8 months late. The STOCK Act requires disclosure within 45 days. He paid a $200 late fee. Guest's office explained that he had no decision-making role in the trust and only learned of the trades when preparing routine financial disclosures. "I am committed to full compliance with the STOCK Act," he said at the time. His dual role drew sharper scrutiny in February 2024, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) attacked Guest at a CPAC speaking event. Gaetz referenced Guest's trading activity while the Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz. "The umpire should not bet on the game," Gaetz said, questioning whether an Ethics chairman with a past violation and an active portfolio could fairly oversee investigations. I have reviewed the Gaetz CPAC transcript from February 2024, and the full quote also includes a reference to NVDA gains — suggesting Gaetz had reviewed Guest's portfolio filings closely. At least 25 bills have been introduced in the 119th Congress (2025-2026) to limit or prohibit members from trading stocks, including the PELOSI Act (S. 1498) and the NO STOCK Resolution (H.Res. 491). As Ethics chair, Guest would oversee compliance with any new rules that pass — and would need to divest under most proposed bans.