Rob Bresnahan speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
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As markets convulsed in early April following President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement of sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, members of Congress and their families executed hundreds of stock trades — drawing fresh scrutiny to lawmakers’ access to sensitive economic information.
Among the most active was freshman U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a Republican who represents Scranton and has publicly supported banning congressional stock trading.
According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of financial disclosures, Bresnahan reported dozens of trades between April 2 and April 8, a week that saw the S&P 500 tumble and recover amid intense tariff-driven volatility.
A local news outlet in Bresnahan’s district criticized the congressman for his trading, and one of his constituents — who said she voted for him — challenged Bresnahan on the issue during a telephone town hall.
“You’re making all these trades,” said the woman, who was only identified as “Ellen.” “I thought you were supposed to stop trading. Is there any way you can kind of just explain what’s going on there? I did vote for you. I’m really appreciative of you doing this for us and helping us … but I didn’t send you there to trade.”
Bresnahan responded that he never trades “my own stocks.”
“Like many Americans, I rely on a financial adviser to make these transactions,” he told the woman. “I honestly have no idea what’s inside of the portfolio that I own. I see the PTR report that is filed at the end of the month, but I think you need to know that the trades are being executed on my behalf. I do not have any dialogues with my financial advisers.”
According to investment research firm Quiver Quantitative, around $6.56 million in stock value has been traded in Bresnahan’s name this calendar year so far over a total of 579 total trades.
The stock market saw extreme highs and lows during President Trump’s back-and-forth decisions on tariffs, which sent Wall Street and global markets into chaos, impacting retirement funds and other investments. However, some of those close to the president appear to have made money during the market tumult.
Congress passed a law in 2012 with the intention of banning members of Congress from trading based on insider information they had access to by the nature of their positions. However, critics have called the legislation weak with little enforcement and legislators appear to trade more during major events, such as COVID.
Under current law, members of Congress must disclose stock trades within 45 days. However, they can provide a range rather than exact values or share prices, making it difficult to determine whether members actually profited from the tariff-related turmoil. However, the Wall Street Journal noted that lawmakers reported more stock trades in April — as the on-again, off-again tariffs added to market uncertainty — than any other month in the past year.
Bresnahan has said he supports tighter restrictions on congressional investment activity and introduced legislation to require members to divest from individual stocks or place them in blind trusts.
“The public should never have to question whether their elected officials are serving the public or their own portfolios,” he said during the telephone town hall. “That’s why I introduced the TRUST Act to restore the integrity Americans expect and deserve from their government. Members of Congress should not be allowed to profit off of the information they are entrusted with. This is a belief I’ve had since before taking office, and this belief has not changed.”
However, he filed that bill a month after he was criticized for such trades.
Bresnahan’s trades ranked second-highest for the week following “Liberation Day,” only behind Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), whom the Wall Street Journal reports made sales of more than 200 shares and options and the purchase of more than 110 securities. According to the Journal, Khanna has said those trades were made by advisers who manage trusts for his wife and children.
Bresnahan’s Pennsylvania Republican colleague, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County, is currently leading a bipartisan effort to further regulate congressional stock trading and create uniform rules for all members. In response to a request for comment, Fitzpatrick said in a statement, “Restoring trust in government has been a top priority of mine since day one.”
“We need American leaders that are accountable, transparent, and wholly committed to serving the public — not their stock portfolio,” he said. “Members of Congress and their families should be banned from trading individual stocks—period. This is a matter of integrity, not ideology. Overwhelming majorities of Americans—Republicans, Democrats, Independents—want this done. We’re taking action to put the public interest first and put an end to self-enrichment in Congress.”