Last March, when Rob Bresnahan, Jr., a wealthy business executive, was running to represent a competitive House district in northeastern Pennsylvania, he published a letter to the editor in a local newspaper demanding an end to stock trading by members of Congress.
“The trust our political leaders and institutions have from Americans is at a historic low and it’s easy to understand why,” Mr. Bresnahan wrote in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice. “Too often we hear about how politicians are making millions of dollars during their time in office, and it is sickening. If we want to restore trust in government and our political leaders, then Congress needs to lead with these policies.”
If elected, Mr. Bresnahan told voters, he would co-sponsor legislation to ban stock trading by members of Congress, a practice he said “needs to come to an end immediately.”
More than two months after being sworn in, Mr. Bresnahan, who defeated a Democratic incumbent last November in one of the most expensive House races in the country, has not introduced or co-sponsored such a bill. Over that time, he has emerged as one of the most active stock traders in the freshman class, according to Capitol Trades, a site that monitors the stock market activity of lawmakers.
Since he took office in January, Mr. Bresnahan has reported 264 stock trades, according to the site. He has purchased up to $1.7 million in stock since taking office, according to his periodic transaction report, and has sold up to $3.03 million.
Lawmakers in both parties have long championed the issue of banning individual stock trading for members of Congress as a way to appeal to growing populist sentiment among constituents. They note that lawmakers have access to classified intelligence reports, meet with chief executives and play a key role in setting economic policies, creating at least the appearance of conflicts.
The idea has drawn a diverse group of supporters, from Representative Chip Roy, a far-right Texas Republican, to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive New York Democrat. But the effort has stalled in recent months, after the departure of the issue’s top Democratic champion in Congress, and amid a lack of support among other lawmakers.
Roughly 75 percent of voters support banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, according to public polling. A 2022 New York Times investigation found that nearly 20 percent of congressional lawmakers, including Democrats and Republicans, bought stocks that intersected with their committee work.
Mr. Bresnahan, who serves on the transportation and infrastructure committee, has traded some stocks related to those fields, including Caterpillar, the construction and mining equipment manufacturer; CXS, the railroad company; and Boeing, the airplane manufacturer.
During his campaign, Mr. Bresnahan attacked his Democratic opponent, Matt Cartwright, for failing to co-sponsor legislation cracking down on the practice.
“This is the topic of bipartisan legislation right now in the House that I would happily co-sponsor,” he wrote in the letter to the editor. “My opponent, Matt Cartwright, is not a co-sponsor of this bill.”
Since he arrived on Capitol Hill, Mr. Bresnahan has yet to do so himself. He has not signed on to the No Corruption In Government Act, a bipartisan bill that would prohibit insider trading by members of Congress and their spouses. Nor has he added his name to the TRUST in Congress Act, a bill that would require lawmakers, their spouses and children to place certain assets into blind trusts while serving in office.
In recent months, Mr. Bresnahan traded tens of thousands of dollars of stock in Alibaba, the e-commerce giant with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Between February and March, Mr. Bresnahan also dumped Tesla stock that he had held since last year, according to public records.
Hannah Pope, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bresnahan said that he had yet to co-sponsor legislation on the topic because he had decided instead to introduce his own bill, which is still in the works.
Ms. Pope said that Mr. Bresnahan relies on a financial adviser to trade stocks for him, and never knows about the trades before they happen or when they occur. He also does not know the companies being traded, she said.
“Like the overwhelming majority of Americans, Rob does not handle his own stock trading, and he never has,” Ms. Pope said. “Rob’s focus is on delivering for the people of northeastern Pennsylvania by securing our border, continuing to revitalize our economy and repairing our crumbling infrastructure.”
The Alibaba trade, she added, was part of a larger strategic stock package. When it was reported, Mr. Bresnahan’s team put in guardrails so that he would not be able to trade that stock again.
Donald K. Sherman, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a Democratic-aligned watchdog group, said that Mr. Bresnahan’s trades raised questions, particularly given his promises and commitments during the campaign.
“More importantly, these questions wouldn’t be asked if he divested from engaging in selling and buying and owning individuals assets like stocks,” Mr. Sherman said. “He made the choice to run for Congress. He has the choice to not be engaged in the stock market. That choice remains available to him.”
Mr. Sherman argued that a ban was important because the public should not have to wonder whether the stock portfolios of lawmakers were influencing legislation and committee work. While there was no reason to believe that Mr. Bresnahan was not complying with the law, Mr. Sherman added, “members who purport to hold themselves to a higher standard should try to meet that standard.”
The drive to ban congressional stock trading kicked off in 2020 after revelations that senators from both parties had traded health care stocks after closed-door briefings on the coronavirus pandemic.
Still, the issue appears to have lost some steam with the departure from Congress of one of its most vocal champions, Abigail Spanberger, a former Democratic representative from Virginia now running for governor in the state.
“There’s an opportunity for somebody — perhaps a freshman — to take a leadership position on this,” Mr. Sherman said. “It’s always a good time to support ethics reforms that are supported by a majority of voters.”
Annie Karni is a congressional correspondent for The Times. She writes features and profiles, with a recent focus on House Republican leadership. More about Annie Karni
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