Editor\u2019s note: We are publishing a series of fact-checks of advertisements in the Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District race between incumbent Republican Congressman Rob Bresnahan of Dallas Twp. and his Democratic challenger, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti. The election is a key one for both major parties\u2019 hopes of holding a House majority the next two years.<\/p>\n
The 30-second ad is paid for by House Majority Forward, a tax-exempt advocacy organization aligned with the Democratic Party, which operates as a \u201cdark money\u201d group and does not have to disclose its donors.<\/p>\n
It opens with video of stock tickers changing alongside photos of the House floor and a file photo of Bresnahan. It pans to another black-and-white shot of a silhouetted man on his cellphone in the foreground, staring toward the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n
Text labels Bresnahan \u201ca Congressional stock trader\u201d before airing video footage cut from a television news story.<\/p>\n
\u201cRob Bresnahan is facing fresh scrutiny over stock trades,\u201d a news anchor states, as a color photo of the congressman on his cellphone, in front of the Capitol, flashes on the screen. \u201cBresnahan, who ranks as one of Congress\u2019 top stock traders, dumped up to $130,000 in stocks from four major Medicaid providers. Seven days later, he voted to slash Medicaid funding.\u201d<\/p>\n
It concludes by asking viewers to call Bresnahan\u2019s local offices to demand he stop trading stock, with on-screen text demanding support for H.R. 3779<\/a>, a bill introduced by Dems in June that would ban stock trading and tighten financial disclosure rules for senior government officials.<\/p>\n Key claim<\/p>\n \u201cMembers of Congress are getting rich trading stocks around their votes. It should be illegal. But Congressman Rob Bresnahan doesn\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it factual?<\/p>\n It is mostly true.<\/p>\n According to transaction reports he filed with the House, Bresnahan sold up to $130,000 in stocks in four companies that oversaw about half of all Medicaid managed care organizations<\/a> at the time \u2014 Centene Corp., CVS Health Corp., Elevance Health Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc.<\/p>\n A week later, the House took its first vote on President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big, Beautiful Bill Act,\u201d<\/a> which will cut federal Medicaid spending by at least $911 billion<\/a> over the following 10 years. Bresnahan voted yes on the bill<\/a>, and it ultimately became law.<\/p>\n Though he noted his trades were made by a third-party financial adviser without his input, Bresnahan traded around 650 stocks during his first year in office in 2025<\/a>, ranking him among the most prolific traders in Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the claim that Bresnahan \u201cdoesn\u2019t think\u201d congressional stock trading \u201cshould be illegal\u201d is open for scrutiny.<\/p>\n During his 2024 campaign, Bresnahan promised to push for a ban on congressional stock trading<\/a>.<\/p>\n In July, he voted in favor of the Stop Insider Trading Act.<\/a><\/p>\n