In a remotely normal political universe, a freshman congressman from the 8th District of Pennsylvania would not be the subject of international headlines.
We are light-years past normal, which explains why Rob Bresnahan is a household name from Scranton to South Africa. A headline from the Daily Chhattisgarh, which I swear I’m not making up: “A Cruel and Stunning New Low: Rep. Bresnahan Accused of Profiting Off Stock Sale Ahead of Major Medicaid Vote.”
The Daily Chhattisgarh is an Indian newspaper that publishes in English and Hindi. If you are a freshman congressman from the 8th District of Pennsylvania and your name turns up in the Daily Chhattisgarh, you either cured cancer or helped cut the insurance of indigent cancer patients.
Bresnahan first drew wider scrutiny in April, when The New York Times reported that the multimillionaire MAGA Republican was among the most prolific stock traders in Congress. This was newsworthy, because Bresnahan ran on a promise to ban congressional stock trading.
In May, he introduced legislation for such a ban, but kept on trading. One of the May transactions is news now because Bresnahan dumped Medicaid-related stock and then voted for a budget-busting bill that slashes the program and other safety nets his most vulnerable constituents rely on.
As a candidate and a congressman, Bresnahan repeatedly vowed never to vote for any such cuts. In February, he issued this statement: “I ran for Congress under a promise of always doing what is best for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania. If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it. Pennsylvania’s Eighth District chose me to advocate for them in Congress. These benefits are promises that were made to the people of NEPA and where I come from, people keep their word.”
From Bresnahan’s perspective, he kept his word.
“In my perspective, I don’t look at them as cuts,” Bresnahan said of changes in work requirements and funding cuts sure to cause sicker, hungrier Pennsylvanians. Perusing the global infamy he achieved in just seven months on the job, I noted that none of the news stories on the internet reflected any effort to reach out to the congressman for comment.
Bresnahan is notoriously unavailable to constituents who cite innumerable unanswered calls to his offices and rightly ridicule his “telephone townhalls,” a cowardly substitute for the real thing.
It helps if you have his cellphone number. I called Monday, he answered, and we had a congenial, enlightening chat covering his stock trades, his vote to cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits and why he thinks many of his constituents believe he’s a dishonest opportunist out to enrich himself at their eternal expense.
Bresnahan’s harshest critics won’t like it, but I give credit where it’s due. I’ve been relentlessly (and righteously) critical of the congressman and my call clearly caught him off-guard. He could have hung up and hid behind his press handlers. Instead, he promised to call me back and kept that promise. I appreciated him taking the time and told him so.
We started with the stock trades, on which Bresnahan swears he has no input. His portfolio is managed entirely by others. He said he explored creating a “blind trust,” but the process was complicated and could have unintended consequences.
“If I was going to encapsulate all of my different brokerage accounts into a blind trust, I would not have the ability to prohibit the trust from investing in foreign entities, short-selling American companies or investing in companies that have a direct impact for my committees,” he said.
Bresnahan said the May sale of his stock in Centene Corp. — a health care broker heavily dependent on Medicaid — was news to him when the story broke last week. Shortly after Trump’s budget bill passed, Centene stocks cratered.
“I’ll be honest. I heard about this on Thursday,” Bresnahan said. “I had to Google what Centene actually was. I had no idea. … There was no correlation (between the trade and his vote). I made it exceptionally clear that my advisors do what they do unbeknownst to me, and we’re now even trying to take it a step further.”
Bresnahan said he’s “on the cusp of finding something” that will make his trades “more transparent.” The easiest solution would be to simply stop trading. This instant remedy also applies to other top traders like Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose estimated net worth is $256 million, according to Quiver Qualitative, an industry authority.
Quiver estimates Bresnahan’s net worth at $48 million. He said he and his fiancée, former WNEP-TV reporter/anchor Chelsea Strub, are developing a family foundation to “make a sizable contribution back to the community.”
“I never ran for Congress to enrich myself. That was never the purpose,” Bresnahan said. (He was already rich when he ran.) “I didn’t do this for a job. I’m not a state legislator that became a state rep. that ran for state Senate and then went over to Congress. I had a life before this, a very good one at that. I came here because I try to have an independent thought. I look at things uniquely and individually.”
Of all Bresnahan’s answers, his nods to the “very good life” he enjoyed before entering politics and his “unique, individual” perspective rang the most true. Like too many of the 435 representatives and 100 senators who allegedly represent us, the 35-year-old multimillionaire has precious little in common with everyday Americans, particularly the poorest and sickest among us.
Bresnahan is struggling to set up a suitable system for trading his millions in stocks. Many of his constituents are struggling to pay for basic elements of survival. The budget he voted for will make their struggle harder. He doesn’t see it that way, and from his unique perspective, it’s folly to expect otherwise.
The freshman congressman truly doesn’t “look at them as cuts.” The Medicaid work requirements and new red tape will only affect “able-bodied people who can work,” he said. This assertion is contrary to every independent analysis I’ve read, but Bresnahan insisted exemptions will protect people who “really need help.”
The congressman rattled off a list of citizens he said are exempt from work requirements.
“Pregnant women; parents; guardians or caretakers of dependent or disabled individuals; full-time students; disabled veterans; individuals with medical needs including physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities; mental health disorders; blindness; substance-use disorders; serious or complex medical conditions; members of a household receiving SNAP benefits; individuals in rehabilitation programs and inmates of public institutions (won’t be hurt),” he said.
An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office adamantly says otherwise. The analysis, and many others I’ve read, says the work requirements and red tape will result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance.
Who to believe? I’ll go with the CBO and other sources who have no interest in fudging the facts. For the record, I believe Bresnahan believes he broke no promises in voting for the budget. He made other claims I don’t have room for today. I promise to address them in Sunday’s column.
In the meantime, I sincerely thank the freshman congressman from the 8th District of Pennsylvania for a revealing look at his perspective on why he made the front page in India.
“Call me anytime,” he said. “I am an open book, and I will give it to you straight whether you believe me or not. If you hate my politics, fine, but I will just give it to you straight.”
Isake lie aage dekh rahe hain, kaangresee. That’s “looking forward to it, congressman” in Hindi.
CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, does not speak Hindi, but Google Translate does. Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com; @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook.