Rob Bresnahan Is Enriching Himself on Your Dime

Ryan Haylett

How does someone run for Congress telling voters that stock trading by politicians is wrong and needs to end immediately, and then walk into office with a net worth over thirty four million dollars and make over six hundred stock trades worth more than seven million dollars in his very first year?

Ryan Haylett

I do not usually cover election campaigns on this show, but Rob Bresnahan, who represents my home district in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is hands down the worst congressman I have ever lived under, and I once lived in Mike Kelly's district if that tells you anything.

Ryan Haylett

According to reporting from Spotlight PA and NOTUS, this guy was one of the most prolific stock traders in the entire United States Capitol during twenty twenty five, all while representing one of the poorest working class districts in the state. And, look at what he was actually trading.

Ryan Haylett

Reporting shows he bought stock in defense contractors like Lockheed Martin right before U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. He bought shares in Credo Technology, a data center supplier, while actively pushing for data centers on Capitol Hill. And then, right before the House voted on a sweeping bill cutting Medicaid, he sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in companies that manage Medicaid. I mean, it is just... it is un-fucking-believable.

Ryan Haylett

And when people called him out, what was his defense? He kept claiming, oh, I do not trade my own stocks, my financial adviser does it without my input, I do not even talk to them.

Ryan Haylett

Fucking BULLSHIT. local news outlets like WVIA reported on a WILK radio clip with host Bob Cordaro where Bresnahan literally admitted on tape, yeah, we talk about what positions are coming up.

Ryan Haylett

This mother fucker got caught red handed!

Ryan Haylett

And when WVIA asked him back in July why he did not just order his advisers to stop buying and selling individual stocks altogether, you know what he said?

Ryan Haylett

He said, and then do what with it, just leave it in accounts and lose money and go broke?

Ryan Haylett

Go broke?! Are you fucking kidding me? With a median net worth of thirty four million dollars, telling constituents in Scranton and Wilkes Barre that he might go broke if he stops day trading defense contractors!

Ryan Haylett

By May of twenty twenty six, NOTUS reported that after late twenty twenty five trading slowed down, Bresnahan had not disclosed a single individual stock trade in twenty twenty six. His office claimed he had stopped trading stocks altogether, though he retained his existing holdings and bought certain bonds and securities.

Ryan Haylett

But let's be real, taking a pause after getting dragged through the mud for a year of aggressive trading does not erase what happened.

Ryan Haylett

And while he was busy day trading, what was he actually doing on the floor of Congress? Falling right in line as a complete MAGA drone. He ran as a moderate, independent, commonsense businessman who would stand up for Northeastern Pennsylvania. But the second he got to D.C., he fell right into lockstep, voting straight down party lines for every extreme piece of legislation handed to him and rubber stamping leadership demands. He traded in any independent voice he promised voters just to be another loyal vote for party leadership.

Ryan Haylett

The reason this pisses me off so much is because I remember what real constituent service actually looks like in this district. A while back, before Bresnahan took office, a client of mine had the entirety of their Meta business suite profiles for their small business shut down because Meta's corporate algorithms kept falsely flagging their social media accounts as spam. That triggered Meta to also take down my entire personal Meta account as well. Facebook, Instagram, everything...

Ryan Haylett

Did you know that is is absolutely impossible to talk to someone at Meta? They have no customer service line unless you pay for it. No automated system, no humans, you don't even get an AI call-bot, complete brick wall.

Ryan Haylett

When something like this happens the best thing you can do is call your congressman. We reached out to former Congressman Matt Cartwright's team, and a real human being on his staff personally intervened, got through the bureaucratic mess, and saved that business's marketing campaigns. That is what a congressional office is supposed to do.

Ryan Haylett

Instead, Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district went from an office that solved real world bureaucratic nightmares for local business owners to a representative who treats his seat like a personal hedge fund portfolio booster.

Ryan Haylett

It is a total shift from public service to personal enrichment, and the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania deserve so much better than being a footnote in a millionaire's trading account.

Ryan Haylett

That is why I am supporting Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti. She has built a solid track record of no bullshit executive leadership in local government, and right now, this district needs a public servant who actually focuses on doing the job instead of day trading on Capitol Hill.