TransparencyOversight & ethics enforcement

Rep. Michael Guest reported three December 2025 stock sales by a family trust to the House Clerk in August 2026, months past the STOCK Act's 45-day deadline; he said a compliance firm missed them

Confidence: Confirmed · 3 sourcesMississippi · Oct 12, 2026

Subject of this story

Michael Guest, U.S. Representative, Mississippi District 3

Also named

Oversight

U.S. House Committee on Ethics

What happened

A Periodic Transaction Report signed by Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) on Aug. 14, 2026 and filed with the Clerk of the House discloses three Dec. 16, 2025 sales of Airbnb, Chevron and e.l.f. Beauty stock (each valued at $1,001 to $15,000) by a family trust, listed with the spouse as owner. The STOCK Act requires disclosure within 45 days of a trade, which put the deadline around late January 2026, so the report came about six and a half months late. In a comment on the filing, Guest wrote that he learned of the sales on Aug. 13, 2026, that a compliance firm missed them while preparing his annual disclosure, that he has no role in the trust's decisions and was not consulted on the trades, that his wife and children are partial beneficiaries so he must report them, that all the sales were at a loss, and that he notified House Ethics Committee staff and started an additional compliance review. NOTUS first reported the late filing on Aug. 17, 2026, and quoted his chief of staff as saying Guest intends to pay any late-filing fine and does not believe he needs to recuse himself if the Ethics Committee, which he chairs, considers it; NOTUS says the standard first-time penalty is $200. A separate 2021 Periodic Transaction Report shows Guest disclosed on Nov. 3, 2021 BP and ExxonMobil trades from Jan. 22, 2021 by a family trust, and states that he paid the statutory $200 late fee. The sources reviewed do not say whether a fine has been assessed for the 2026 filing or whether the Ethics Committee has acted.

Sources (3)

Clerk of the House of Representatives, Periodic Transaction Report, Hon. Michael Patrick Guest, filed Aug. 14, 2026 (Filing ID 20035130)Airbnb (ABNB), Chevron (CVX) and e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) sales on 12/16/2025, notification date 08/13/2026, each $1,001 - $15,000. Comment: "On 8/13/26, I learned that a family trust made three stock sales on 12/16/25 that should have been reported as periodic transactions. A compliance firm missed them... All sales were at a loss. I notified Ethics staff & reported on 8/14/26."

NOTUSGuest was more than six months late disclosing three stock sales made by a family trust fund owned by his wife, Haley; his chief of staff said he "does not have any decision-making role" in the trust. Guest "intends to pay" any late-filing fine.

Clerk of the House of Representatives, Periodic Transaction Report, Hon. Michael Patrick Guest, 2021 (Filing ID 20019676)BP and Exxon Mobil transactions dated 01/22/2021, notification date 10/22/2021. Comment: "I reported the transaction to the Clerk of the House on November 3, 2021, and paid the statutory remedy of a $200 late fee."

Response

Michael Guest

On-record admission

Contacted and made an on-record admission — exact wording not on record.

What happened next (0)

No outcome recorded yet.

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