Fact Check: Did Trump propose 'Congressional Reform Act of 2025' to limit lawmakers' privileges?
WASHINGTON, DC: According to a post circulating online, President Donald Trump introduced the 'Congressional Reform Act of 2025,' which allegedly makes major reforms to Congress and governance.
This has been widely shared on social media, often shared as a factual legislative proposal by Trump. But is it a fact or just a claim? Let us fact-check and find out the truth
Claim: Trump calls for Congress members to lose perks and follow rules as ordinary Americans
In October this year, a rumor spread online that US President Donald Trump had asked his supporters to share a set of "TRUMP Rules" called the "Congressional Reform Act of 2025."
The act in question, as mentioned in many Facebook posts, included proposals like removing pensions for congress members and requiring lawmakers to participate in the same government-run social services many Americans use, like Medicare for health care insurance and Social Security for retirement paychecks.
This is what the claim says, according to the post. It starts with an introduction, “President Trump is asking everyone to share this. In three days, most people in the United States will have seen the message. This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.”
These are the summarised version of the points mentioned in the alleged Trump rules of the Congressional Reform Act. It claims that the members of Congress will no longer receive pensions or perks after leaving office.
It would have to move all retirement funds into Social Security, participating just like ordinary citizens.
They would be required to purchase their own retirement plans, stop giving themselves pay raises so that salary increases match social security adjustments, and join the same healthcare as the public.
Additionally, the congress members would have to follow all laws they pass for the public. This includes rules against insider trading, and all previous contracts or agreements made for their benefit would be voided.
The post ended with a statement saying, “Serving in Congress is an honor and privilege, NOT a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work…not get all kinds of freebies. Term limits of 2 terms and treat them like a regular citizen!”
Fact-Check: The claim is a copy-and-paste online hoax
The "Congressional Reform Act of 2025" is a copypasta, which is a copy-and-paste internet hoax common on Facebook.
According to previous reports by Snopes, variants of this particular copypasta have spread online since at least 2009, when a version of the rules listed above was labeled "The 28th Amendment" and attributed to business magnate Warren Buffett.
The users then circulated it as the "Congressional Reform Act of 2017" during Trump's first term.
A search for the "Congressional Reform Act of 2025" on Google and the White House news releases page produced no such results.
Although the post claims the information came from Fox News, a search on the website showed no results about the act, thus proving the claim to be false.
Congress members get pension and pay into Social Security
Congress members are eligible for pensions based on their years of service, and also pay into social security and federal retirement plans.
They can vote on pay raises, though the raise won't take effect immediately and is often blocked.
While they can trade stocks, insider trading is prohibited under the STOCK Act, though enforcement has been limited.
