WASHINGTON — Minnesota congresswoman Kelly Morrison is selling her individual public and private stocks amid heightened scrutiny of congressional trading and questions about her extensive financial holdings.

Morrison, a first-term Democrat from the suburbs west of Minneapolis, is divesting assets that include up to $1.45 million in private company stakes she acquired after arriving in Washington in January 2025. The move comes after the Minnesota Star Tribune made detailed inquiries about her investments.

“I don’t want there to ever be a question of what I am fighting for and who I serve,” Morrison said in a statement. “That is why I am divesting from all public and private companies and will no longer own individual stock.”

Morrison declined requests for an interview.

Government ethics experts reviewing the investments from Morrison in everything from AI startups to defense companies have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest for the politician, who descends from a well-heeled Twin Cities family. She came under scrutiny last month for failing to disclose one of her trades in a timely manner.

Morrison, whose private net worth is valued at $41 million by data firm Quiver Quantitative, is one of the more active investors in Congress. During her 16 months in Washington, Morrison made 106 trades, according to Capitol Trades, which tracks financial disclosures made by Congress.

By comparison, over the last three years, Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, made 13 trades, while Republican Rep. Pete Stauber had one. The rest of the Minnesota delegation had none during that period.

Morrison ranked 45th among the 535 members of both houses of Congress in total trades over the past three years, according to Capitol Trades. Her transactions are relatively small compared to Congress’ top five traders — each of whom made over 1,000 trades during that period.

Public distrust of congressional stock trading activities has increased, and legislation is pending that would restrict the practice. At the same time, criticism has been heaped on President Donald Trump, his family and his Cabinet members for profiting off deals in industries such as cryptocurrency that are seeking to influence policymaking.

In her statement, Morrison cited what she called “unfathomable levels of corruption and self-enrichment” from the White House and added that even the “appearance of a conflict of interest” can erode voters’ trust in her.

Morrison, an obstetrician and gynecologist, invested between $483,000 to $1.45 million in 28 private companies, according to a Star Tribune analysis of federal filings. The filings give ranges, not exact amounts. Most of Morrison’s money went to emerging, venture-capital backed firms.

In interviews, government ethics experts said Morrison’s trading is legal.

But they noted her frequency of trades, particularly in the elite world of venture capital investing — where access is privileged and investments are risky but highly rewarding if successful — leaves Morrison open to questions about conflicts of interest.

“It may not be corrupt, but it is corrosive if your goal is establishing public trust,” said Kathleen Clark, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Earlier this month, Morrison came under scrutiny when her advisers failed to timely report sales of between $1.4 million and $2.85 million in privately held Andersen Corp., a window and door manufacturer based in Bayport, Minn.

Morrison’s father previously served on Andersen’s board of directors.

Voters have routinely shared their dismay at members of Congress buying and trading stock while in office. A 2025 poll of voters from the University of California San Diego found 85% supported banning stock trading by members in Congress.

Several of Morrison’s holdings in private companies have ties to Silicon Valley or the Department of Defense.

One particular trade, Morrison’s equity investment of $15,001 to $50,000 in Austin, Texas-based Saronic Technologies — a company valued at $9 billion that’s developing an autonomous naval vessel — came just nine days after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota Law School professor who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said that trade was “shocking.” Morrison’s spokeswoman said it was done through a financial adviser.

“This is the kind of thing that can cause great public distrust in our government,” Painter said.

Morrison did not answer several specific questions from the Minnesota Star Tribune about her financial holdings from which she intends to divest.

None of Morrison’s investments offer guaranteed returns in the uncertain world of venture capitalism. But sometimes just the appearance of a member of Congress supporting a venture-backed firm can sway the company’s valuation.

“You’ve got a Midas touch,” said Kedric Payne, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center in Washington. “It may increase in value because everybody thinks you know something they don’t.”

Morrison’s investments also reveal a world unreachable by most mom-and-pop investors.

“You have to have a good network” to make the kinds of investments Morrison has made, said David Deeds, director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of St. Thomas Opus School of Business. “There is just a tier of investing that folks like you and me don’t see.”

Under federal law, members of Congress can trade in a variety of financial vehicles, including stocks and bonds, but they are subject to the 2012 STOCK Act — which prohibits them from using private information obtained through confidential congressional reports or committees for gain.

In 2020, the Minnesota Voters Alliance filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Dean Phillips, Morrison’s predecessor in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, which runs across largely suburban communities from the Mall of America west to Lake Minnetonka and north to Anoka.

The filing never resulted in discipline. And Phillips — who is heir to his family liquor business’s fortune and had a net worth of at least $64 million when he entered Congress — announced he’d put millions of his holdings in a blind trust.

Morrison descends from Minneapolis’ first mayor, Dorilus Morrison, who had interests in the Northern Pacific railroad and General Mills’ predecessor company. Kelly Morrison’s father, Jack Morrison, founded Goldner Hawn, a Minneapolis private equity firm.

Morrison, 57, first gained statewide visibility in 2018 when elected as an abortion-rights doctor to the Minnesota House of Representatives. In 2024, she won a seat to Congress with nearly 60% of the vote.

In Congress, Morrison serves on the Small Business and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

While none of the investments she’s made since January 2025 appear to affect legislation that has directly come before either of her committees, experts interviewed by the Star Tribune said, the potential for abuse is high when a sitting member of Congress makes votes on topics ranging from defense appropriations to health care and consumer regulations.

“The top line here is that members of Congress trading in stock is kind of at the core of corruption and rot in Congress as an institution,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, interim vice president of policy and government affairs at the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight in Washington. “There is just too much opportunity for self-dealing.”

At the White House, scrutiny of administration officials — and Trump and his family members — securing lucrative investments from cryptocurrency to weapons systems manufacturers has ramped up amid widespread concerns of self-enrichment.

In January, the New York Times reported Trump had enriched himself at least $1.4 billion since taking office.

A month later, on Feb. 16, Morrison took to Facebook to comment on a New York Times editorial, saying “Reminder: it’s not normal for a president to profit $1.4 billion in a single year from the presidency.”

The distinction between Trump’s estimated valuation since January 2025 and whatever money Morrison has made is vast. Still, even the whiff of hypocrisy can undercut the Democrat’s criticism of the Republican president, Painter said.

“She may not buy that much. But it sets an example for the Trump boys to do it.”

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