A recent controversy involving freshman Congressman Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) has reignited calls for stricter rules on congressional stock trading. The lawmaker reportedly sold shares in Centene Corporation, a major Medicaid provider, just days before voting on the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), which includes substantial Medicaid reforms.
The timing of the trade has sparked public outcry and drawn comparisons to other past instances where members of Congress were accused of profiting from insider knowledge.
According to public financial disclosures, Rep. Bresnahan sold stock in Centene shortly before the company experienced a dramatic drop in market value.
On July 1, Centene stock closed at $56.65. By July 3, it had plunged to $33.31—a roughly 41% drop in just two days—after the company announced it would withdraw its 2025 financial guidance due to an unexpected $1.8 billion revenue shortfall.
While Centene’s crash was primarily attributed to its internal financial troubles and not directly linked to the OBBB, the optics of Bresnahan’s timely sale have raised serious questions.
The OBBB, which passed the House along largely partisan lines, includes provisions that could reshape the Medicaid landscape by consolidating oversight and limiting future expansions.
Critics argue these changes could hurt private Medicaid providers like Centene, which rely on state contracts to serve low-income patients. Bresnahan voted in favor of the bill.
Though there is no evidence that Rep. Bresnahan violated any laws, ethics experts are calling for a formal inquiry. “The public deserves to know whether this was just coincidental timing or something more troubling,” said Richard Painter, former chief ethics counsel under President George W. Bush.
This incident is not isolated. Congress has a history of controversial stock trades tied to sensitive legislative developments. In early 2020, multiple senators, including Richard Burr (R-NC), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), were scrutinized for selling stocks after closed-door COVID-19 briefings.
Burr, then-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, dumped between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stocks before the pandemic tanked markets. Though the Justice Department eventually closed its investigation without charges, the scandal damaged public trust.
In another high-profile case, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) faced criticism after her husband, Paul Pelosi, purchased millions in tech stocks before major legislative moves on antitrust policy. Although Pelosi denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the trades, watchdogs argued that even the appearance of impropriety was unacceptable.
Despite growing public frustration, Congress has repeatedly failed to pass meaningful stock trading restrictions for its members. The STOCK Act of 2012 was supposed to increase transparency, but its enforcement mechanisms remain weak. Lawmakers are still allowed to buy and sell individual stocks, provided they report the transactions within 45 days.
Recent bipartisan proposals have sought to go further. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) have each introduced bills to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning or trading individual stocks. “We should not have elected officials profiting off the information they receive in office,” Ossoff said in a recent statement. Yet these proposals have stalled amid partisan gridlock and resistance from leadership in both parties.
Public support for reform remains high. A 2022 poll from the Trafalgar Group found that over 75% of likely voters favor banning stock trading by members of Congress.
Advocacy groups like Unusual Whales and the Project on Government Oversight continue to track congressional trades and push for greater accountability.
As the Bresnahan case unfolds, it may serve as a fresh flashpoint in the long-running debate over congressional ethics. Whether or not the lawmaker ultimately faces penalties, the incident underscores the broader problem: elected officials are too often allowed to play by their own rules.
Until comprehensive reforms are enacted, critics say, the door remains open for conflicts of interest and a corrosive erosion of public trust.
For now, Rep. Bresnahan has not commented publicly on the stock sale. But his silence may only fuel further speculation about the propriety of his actions and the urgent need for change in how Congress does business.