On Capitol Hill, where the line between public service and private gain is often scrutinized, the issue of stock trading by lawmakers has erupted into a full-blown controversy—one that’s not just about dollars and cents, but about trust, transparency, and the very integrity of American democracy. At the heart of the storm is Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr., a 34-year-old freshman Republican from Pennsylvania, whose prolific trading activity has made him one of the most talked-about figures in Congress this year.
According to Capitol Trades and reporting from the Daily Mail and The New York Times, Bresnahan has made at least 626 stock trades since taking office in January 2025, making him the second-most-active trader among his peers. That’s a staggering number, especially for a lawmaker who campaigned on promises to end stock trading by members of Congress. As Quiver Quantitative’s co-founder Christopher Kardatzke told the Daily Mail, “Bresnahan has filed more stock trades than almost any other member of Congress since entering office this year.”
But it isn’t just the volume of trades that has raised eyebrows—it’s their timing and potential conflicts. Bresnahan’s transactions have, at times, appeared to coincide with his own votes on consequential legislation. For instance, on March 27, 2025, he sold between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of bonds issued by the Allegheny County Hospital Development Authority, right after a report identified ten rural hospitals in Pennsylvania at risk of closure and just a month after he voted for a House budget resolution paving the way for large Medicaid cuts. Then, on May 15, he sold up to $15,000 in Centene stock, the nation’s largest Medicaid plan provider, mere weeks before Centene’s shares plummeted by about 40% following President Trump’s signing of a domestic policy bill with major Medicaid reductions.
Democrats, seizing on what they describe as “political malpractice,” have begun weaponizing Bresnahan’s trades ahead of the 2026 midterms. Eli Cousin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said, “His prolific stock trading is more than just a broken promise. It’s political malpractice and a scandal of his own making that will define his time in Washington and be a major reason why he will lose his seat.” Already, outside groups like the NRDC Action Fund have launched six-figure ad campaigns in Bresnahan’s district, highlighting his votes to repeal clean energy tax credits after selling clean energy stocks and buying fossil fuel stocks. “He made out like a bandit,” one ad proclaims. “Tell Rob to stop trading stocks in Washington.”
Republicans, for their part, have pushed back, arguing that the focus on Bresnahan’s trades is a distraction from substantive policy debates. Maureen O’Toole, a spokeswoman for the House Republican campaign arm, characterized the attacks as “desperate Democrats’ false attacks to distract” from their own agenda. Some in the GOP privately concede, however, that the issue may hurt Bresnahan in his swing district, especially as Democrats rally behind potential challengers like Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti.
Bresnahan has attempted to deflect criticism by insisting that his trades are managed by financial advisors without his direct input. “The public should never have to question whether their elected officials are serving the public or their own portfolios,” he said in a statement when introducing his own legislation to bar members of Congress from buying or selling stocks. The bill, introduced in May 2025, would allow lawmakers to keep holdings acquired before their terms but require the establishment of blind trusts for any continued trading—though it wouldn’t take effect until 2027. Notably, the legislation has not attracted a single co-sponsor, and Bresnahan has not signed onto stricter bipartisan bills that would impose outright bans or require certification of blind trusts.
Meanwhile, Bresnahan’s explanations have done little to quell suspicion. When pressed by WVIA News about halting his trading, he bristled, “And then do what with it? Just leave it all in the accounts and just leave it there and lose money and go broke?” He’s also complained about the slow pace of the House Ethics Committee in approving his blind trust, calling the process “prehistoric” and “excruciating.” Yet, as the New York Times noted, his trade volume continued to grow even after these complaints, though he has slowed filings in recent weeks.
Bresnahan’s situation is not unique. The Daily Mail reports that other lawmakers, such as firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, have also made well-timed trades. Greene, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, purchased Impinj stock on April 4, 2025—just as former President Trump announced new tariffs and declared it “a great time to get rich, richer than ever before.” Impinj’s stock has since more than doubled. Greene also bought Palantir shares on April 8, which have yielded returns of over 115%. “Prior to this year, we had only seen one member of Congress ever buy Palantir stock. In the first two months of 2025, we saw six different members buy in,” Kardatzke observed. “Maybe they all share the same financial advisor. The stock is up 148 percent so far this year.”
Even former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has faced scrutiny over her family’s trading. Between 2023 and early July 2025, over 70% of Pelosi’s trades were profitable. While she maintains that her husband, Paul Pelosi, handles all transactions independently, critics question how he so frequently outperforms the market—especially with high-risk call options on AI companies like Nvidia and Alphabet. Pelosi’s spokesperson told the Daily Mail, “Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”
The controversy has fueled bipartisan calls for reform. Public polling shows that more than 80% of Americans support banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, according to The New York Times. In response, a key Senate committee has approved legislation that would bar not only members of Congress but also the president and vice president from trading stocks. Yet, some lawmakers—often those with significant personal wealth—argue that a ban would discourage successful private-sector professionals from entering public service. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, for example, warned that such restrictions would “make it very unattractive for people to step up to the plate and run for office.”
For now, the debate rages on, with both parties jockeying for the moral high ground and the public’s trust. As the 2026 midterms approach, the stock trading practices of lawmakers like Bresnahan are sure to remain in the spotlight, shaping not just individual races but the broader conversation about ethics, accountability, and the responsibilities of those elected to serve.
In the end, the question remains: can Congress regain the public’s faith while allowing its members to play the market, or will mounting outrage finally push lawmakers to act on the reforms so many voters demand?
