Stock Trading Congressman Rob Bresnahan Knew What He Was Doing Was Wrong. He Did it Anyway.

Bresnahan campaigned on a promise to ban congressional stock trading, only to then become one of the worst offenders

Rob Bresnahan has a confession: He knew stock trading off his votes in Congress was wrong, but he did it anyway.

As a candidate for Congress, Bresnahan wrote in a letter to the editor: “the idea that we can buy and sell stocks while voting on legislation that will have a direct impact on these companies is wrong and needs to come to an end immediately.” But in his first weeks on the job, Bresnahan “emerged as one of the most active stock traders” in Congress, executing hundreds of trades worth millions of dollars.

In addition to the sheer volume, the timing of Bresnahan’s trades raised eyebrows. Bresnahan:

• Dumped Medicaid-provider stocks days before voting to gut Medicaid;
• Dumped Pennsylvania hospital bonds after voting to put hospitals at risk;
• Bought defense stocks before the U.S. launched strikes against Iran;
• Bought data center supplier stock while advocating for data centers to be built in NEPA;
• Dumped clean energy stocks before voting to gut clean energy tax credits;
• “Traded stocks heavily” during the week major global tariffs were announced.

When pressed on why he refused to stop trading, Bresnahan – who reported having as much as $77 million in assets – proved how removed he is from the reality of the community he serves. Bresnahan said: “And then do what with it… just leave it there and lose money and go broke?”

After Bresnahan was called out for his hypocrisy, he tried to move the goalposts by insisting to his constituents during a telephone town hall: “I do not have any dialogues with my financial advisers.” But unearthed audio revealed that was just another lie. Bresnahan – on tape, in his own words – confessed to having direct discussions about his upcoming stock positions while in office, saying: “I meet with my financial advisor. We talk about, you know, what different positions are coming up.” That confession is the smoking gun that ties Bresnahan directly to his trading activity while in office.

Polling showed Bresnahan’s job approval rating 15 points underwater, and that a majority of PA-08 voters had seen, heard, or read about his stock trading.

DCCC Spokesperson Eli Cousin:
“Rob Bresnahan has made himself the poster-child of Washington corruption. He knew that trading stocks off of his votes to hurt Northeastern Pennsylvanians was wrong, but he did it anyway. Voters will hold him accountable by replacing him with Paige Cognetti in November.”