Incoming Democratic Chairman of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee Sherrod Brown announced Thursday that he will push for the committee to host a hearing regarding the recent short squeeze of stocks and the resulting response from hedge funds.
BREAKING: Incoming Chairman @SenSherrodBrown's response to the current state of the stock market. pic.twitter.com/mCtr1m58nE
— Senate Banking and Housing Democrats (@SenateBanking) January 28, 2021
"People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they're the ones getting hurt," Brown said in a statement. "It's time for SEC and Congress to make the economy work for everyone, not just Wall Street."
"That's why, as incoming Chair of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, I plan to hold a hearing to do that important work," the statement concluded.
Leaders in the finance industry have called upon the federal government to intervene after hedge fund Melvin Capital lost billions of dollars attempting to short stocks in GameStop, AMC and other companies. Melvin Capital was eventually bailed out by another hedge fund, Citadel LLC.
Meanwhile some stock trading platforms have restricted their users from purchasing stocks in GameStop and a the other companies affected by the short squeeze, most notably TD Ameritrade and Robinhood. Robinhood has since had a class action lawsuit filed against the company for what critics have described as "market manipulation" to benefit wealthy hedge fund owners at the expense of independent investors.
It is unclear what, if anything, Senator Brown intends to do to handle the situation beyond holding a hearing on the matter.