Claim:
In 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump promoted a proposal called "The TRUMP Rules" that would restrict legislative lawmakers' privileges and actions.
Rating:
False (About this rating?)
In early 2026, social media users spread a list of supposed reforms allegedly promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump called "The TRUMP Rules."
The alleged rules, according to 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. Here's how the claim usually went, per the aforementioned posts:
NO comments please.
YOU Are entitled to YOUR opinions as an American, and so Am I. If you agree share! This was taken from Fox News. I wonder how loud it'll get if Trump could pull this off. It will be interesting.
In three days, most people in the United States will have seen the message if you share. This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.
The TRUMP Rules:
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. And no more perks go with them.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise at the same rate as the COLA for monthly Social Security recipients minus 1% if having a budget balance deficit.
5. Congress loses their current care system and participates in the same health care system (Medicare) as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.
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!
You will need to copy and paste to share.
Meanwhile, Snopes readers asked about similar posts.
The above text is a copypasta — a copy-and-pasted internet hoax common on Facebook. As Snopes previously reported, variants of this particular copypasta have spread online since at least 2009, when a version of the rules listed above were labeled "The 28th Amendment" and attributed to business magnate Warren Buffet.
Internet users circulated it as the "Congressional Reform Act of 2017" during Trump's first term and the "Congressional Reform Act of 2025" in 2025, during his second term.
Fox News, which the copypasta cited as its source, has not reported on "The TRUMP Rules" as of this writing, per a search of the news outlet's website. As of this writing, Trump has also not posted about this particular copypasta online, according to two databases that track his social media output. Finally, a search for "The TRUMP Rules" on Google and the White House news releases page returned no credible and relevant results.
Thus, we have rated this claim false.
The so-called reforms listed in the act also include a mixture of rules that already exist and proposals that would actually change existing policy. Here's a breakdown of what these supposed reforms would and would not change:
Do Congress members receive pensions?
Congress members, like most federal employees, are eligible for a pension. Here's the pension eligibility requirements, per the Congressional Research Service:
Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at the age of 62 if they have completed at least 5 years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on length of service (as measured in months) and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.
Do Congress members pay into Social Security? Do they pay into their own retirement plans?
Per our previous reporting, Congress members have paid into Social Security since 1984, when they first became eligible for Social Security benefits.
Congress members first elected in 1984 or later are covered automatically under the Federal Employees' Retirement System, which other government workers use, and can decline coverage.
Aside from Social Security, lawmakers elected before 1984 can be covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), a separate pension plan, CSRS Offset, which is a mix of CSRS and Social Security, or Social Security alone. Lawmakers also pay into these plans — how much they pay and which plans they pay into differs based on when they were elected.
Can Congress vote themselves a pay raise?
Congress members can vote for a pay raise as dictated by the Constitution, but the raise doesn't take effect until the next election due to the 27th Amendment. Technically, a law passed in 1989 grants Congress an automatic cost-of-living pay raise, but lawmakers have blocked those pay increases from taking effect for years. Rank-and-file members of Congress, who receive $174,000 annually as of this writing, have not increased their pay since 2009.
Do Congress members have their own health care system? Do they participate in Medicare?
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, commonly known as Obamacare, lawmakers must give up the insurance coverage previously provided to them via the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and buy health insurance through a plan or exchange created under the act. The Office of Personnel Management has also dictated that members of Congress must purchase through DC Health Link, a program offered under the ACA.
Members of Congress also pay into Medicare and are eligible for it, just like any American.
Are Congress members allowed to participate in insider trading?
Congress members are allowed to trade stock, but legally, they're not supposed to conduct insider trading. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 — known as the STOCK Act — prohibits members of Congress from using "any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position ... or gained from performance of the individual's duties, for personal benefit."
Critics argue the STOCK Act failed to stop insider trading, however, and no member of Congress has been prosecuted for insider trading under the STOCK Act as of this writing — although policy experts have said there's been "persistent credible allegations" of insider trading since the act passed.
Sources:
"26 U.S. Code § 3101 - Rate of Tax." LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3101. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Amdt27.1 Overview of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, Congressional Compensation. congress.gov, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt27-1/ALDE_00013830/.
"Briefings & Statements Archives." The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/. Accessed 21 April 2026.
Brunwick, Ida. "Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables." Congress.Gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/3660.
"Congressional Stock Trading and the STOCK Act." Campaign Legal Center, https://campaignlegal.org/update/congressional-stock-trading-and-stock-act. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Cornell, Ada. Health Benefits for Members of Congress and Designated Congressional Staff: In Brief, 13 Jan. 2017, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43194#:~:text=As%20of%20January%201%2C%202014%2C%20all,Health%20Link%20(the%20%22DC%20SHOP%22).7.
Donald Trump: Social Media Archive. https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/topic/social/?q=%22the+trump+rules%22&platform=all&sort=date&sort_order=desc&page=1.
"Trump's Truth." Trump's Truth, https://trumpstruth.org/search?query=%22the%20trump%20rules%22. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
Huberman, Bond and David Emery. "Snopestionary: What Is Copypasta?" Snopes, 19 Sep. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//articles/369246/what-is-copypasta/.
Foley, Thomas. H.R.3660 - Ethics Reform Act of 1989. https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/3660.
"FOX News Search Results." Collection. Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com. Accessed 21 April 2026.
Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22the+trump+rules%22+congressional+reform&oq=%22the+trump+rules%22+congressional+reform&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAtIBCDMzNzlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 21 April 2026.
Isaacs, Katelin P. Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress. 25 Jul. 2023, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL30631.
Karadas, Serkan, and Minh Tam Tammy Schlosky. "What Explains Trading Behaviors of Members of Congress? Evidence from over 100,000 Congressional Stock Trades." International Review of Economics & Finance, vol. 96, Nov. 2024, p. 103591. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.103591.
LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. "Look Out For These 'Copypasta' Messages on Facebook." Snopes, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//list/copypasta-facebook-viral/.
Mikkelson, David. "Congressional Pensions." Snopes, 30 Jul. 2001, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/congressional-pensions/.
———. "FACT CHECK: The 28th Amendment." Snopes, 10 Dec. 2009, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/28th-amendment/.
———. "Is This Trump's 'Congressional Reform Act of 2017'?" Snopes, 23 Mar. 2020, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/congressional-reform-act-of-2017/.
Office of Personnel Management. Final Rule for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Members of Congress and Congressional Staff. 13 Sep. 2013.
"Part 2 - The STOCK Act: The Failed Effort to Stop Insider Trading in Congress." Campaign Legal Center, https://campaignlegal.org/update/part-2-stock-act-failed-effort-stop-insider-trading-congress. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-112publ105/html/PLAW-112publ105.htm. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
"Trump's Truth." Trump's Truth, https://trumpstruth.org/search?query=%22the%20trump%20rules%22. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
