ECU Requests Ethics Investigation Into Senator Dan Sullivan Over STOCK Act Violations

End Citizens United (ECU), a leading anti-corruption organization, filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics requesting an investigation into Senator Dan Sullivan (Alaska) for apparent violations of the STOCK Act and Senate Rules.

The complaint centers on Senator Sullivan’s failure to timely disclose two sales of stock in RPM International inc, the multi-billion dollar chemical manufacturer founded by Senator Sullivan’s family and currently run by his brother. Public reporting has identified a series of well-timed transactions involving his holdings in RPM, each occurring shortly before a sharp decline in the company’s value. On two occasions, shares from those holdings were reportedly sold just before RPM released weak earnings reports. In a third instance, a substantial position was sold shortly after senators received closed-door briefings, and just before RPM’s stock price sharply fell.

“Senator Sullivan is a walking conflict of interest,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “He has millions of dollars invested in his family’s company while sitting on the committee that oversees its regulators, and he’s engaged in a repeated pattern of stock trades with impossibly good timing. At the same time, he refused to follow a basic transparency law meant to give the public a window into his financial dealings. Taken together, it leaves the public wondering if he used his access to information to protect his investments. We urge the Senate Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into Senator Sullivan and hold him accountable.”

The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to publicly disclose stock transactions exceeding $1,000 no later than 30 days after receiving notification of the transaction and, in all cases, no later than 45 days after the transaction.

The Complaint:

Senator Sullivan reported holding between $500,001 and $1 million in RPM stock in his 2018 financial disclosure. Senate records show his RPM holdings have since grown substantially in value and are now worth between $1,000,001 and $5 million.
Senator Sullivan has reported up to $565,000 in income from his RPM holdings during his time in office, underscoring the substantial financial benefit he derives from a company that has continued to increase its dividend to shareholders at a time when many Americans are struggling with higher prices for everyday essentials.
The significance of these reporting failures is amplified by Senator Sullivan’s continuing relationship with RPM and the public scrutiny surrounding other transactions involving his holdings in the company.
Recent reporting has questioned the timing of several of those transactions, specifically whether they were made in relation to information that may not have been available to the public.
Senate disclosure records show that RPM stock held by Senator Sullivan was sold in amounts of up to $15,000 on September 25, 2018, up to $100,000 on February 27, 2020, and up to $50,000 on November 30, 2022.
According to an August 2026 report by The Alaska Current, the September 2018 and November 2022 sales each preceded weaker-than-expected earnings and a decline in RPM’s share price, while the February 2020 sale followed closed-door congressional briefings from federal health officials on COVID-19, weeks before the pandemic sharply reduced RPM’s share price.
These concerns are heightened by Senator Sullivan’s long-standing role on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which oversees the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – the same agency that regulates companies like RPM and has investigated RPM for environmental violations.
Indeed, a Member who has reported securities transactions worth up to $2 million while in office is plainly familiar with the STOCK Act’s requirements and had every reason to ensure these RPM transactions were disclosed on time.

Click here to read the complaint.

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For 11 years, End Citizens United (ECU) has been dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money in politics and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, ECU has had over 1.4 million donors with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than four million members nationwide and is one of the nation’s leading anti-corruption organizations.