Rob Bresnahan’s Stock Trades Fuel Doubts About GOP Hold On Key PA Swing Seat [Philadelphia Inquirer]

New reporting from the Inquirer reveals that “even some Republicans are expressing concern that Bresnahan’s stock trading could hamper his reelection prospects.” 

One Pennsylvania Republican strategist even says Bresnahan is “throwing away his seat.”

Read the Inquirer’s eye-raising reporting on Bresnahan for yourself:

• U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a first-term Republican, has become the most active trader in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation even as he pushes to ban the practice.
• […] Bresnahan has reported 617 stock trades totaling $7.24 million this year, according to investment research firm Quiver Quantitative. He’s placed roughly five times as many trades as the next most active trader in the delegation, freshman Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, a former CEO of Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund.
• Even some Republicans are expressing concern that Bresnahan’s stock trading could hamper his reelection prospects.
• This spotlight won’t be going away anytime soon.
• The multimillionaire told Scranton-area radio station WVIA he would risk “going broke” if he stopped trading, a comment that has sparked renewed criticism.
• His largest trading days in Congress, with up to 171 trades in a single day, coincide with politically consequential moments including President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement and votes for the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
• Bresnahan’s May 15 sale of $1,001 to $15,000 worth of Centene stock, the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the country, was recently criticized by Joe Rogan on a July 18 episode of the The Joe Rogan Experience for alleged insider trading.
• Republicans worry that Bresnahan’s trading will turn off the type of voter they need to hold these swing districts.
• “Whether he realizes it or not his continuing scuffles on this issue are making him an even more inviting target for Democrats,” GOP political consultant Chris Nicholas said.
• “I don’t know what he’s doing but he’s throwing away his seat,” said another Pennsylvania GOP consultant who did not want to be named publicly criticizing his party.
• The strategist said it’s especially frustrating since the trades are within his control.
• “Bresnahan has made hundreds of stock trades worth millions of dollars, playing the markets while voting to screw over hardworking NEPA families. … and that’s exactly why he’ll be a one-term member of Congress,” Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

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