He said he would forbid congress trading. Now in office, exchange freely.

Last March, when Rob Bresnahan, Jr., a rich republican company manager, was running to represent a competitive chamber district in the north -est of Pennsylvania, published a letter to the publisher in a local newspaper asking for the end of the trade of shares by the members of the congress.

“The trust that our political leaders and institutions have from the Americans is to the historical minimum and it is easy to understand why” wrote Bresnahan with the voice of the citizens of Wilkes-Barre. “Too often we hear about how politicians are gaining millions of dollars during their period in office, and it is disgusting. If we want to restore confidence in the government and in our political leaders, then the congress must lead with these policies.”

If elected, Bresnahan told the voters that he would co-force the legislation to ban the trading of actions by the members of the congress, a practice that he said “must end immediately”.

More than two months after being sworn, Mr. Bresnahan, who defeated a democratic historian last November in one of the most expensive houses in the country, did not introduce or sponsored such a bill. During that period, it emerged as one of the most active share traders of the serial class, according to Capitol Trades, a site that monitors the activity of the shareholding market.

Since it came into office in January, Bresnahan reported 264 shares, According to the site. He purchased up to $ 1.7 million in shares since he entered office, according to his periodic transaction ratio and sold up to $ 3.03 million.

The legislators of both sides have long supported the question of the prohibition of negotiations of individual actions for Congress members as a way to appeal to the growing populist feeling between the components. They note that legislators have access to classified intelligence relationships, meet managers and play a key role in the creation of economic policies, creating at least the appearance of conflicts.

The idea attracted a diversified group of supporters, from the Chip Roy representative, a far-right Texas Republican, to the Alexandria OCasio-Cortez representative, the gradual democratic of New York. But the effort has blocked itself in recent months, after the departure of the best democratic champion of the congress problem and in the middle of the lack of support among other legislators.

About 75 percent of the voters support the ban on members of the congress from the negotiation of individual securities, according to public polls. A 2022 Investigation of the New York Times found That almost 20 percent of congress legislators, including democratic and republican, purchased actions that have intersected with their commission work.

Bresnahan, who is part of the transport committee and infrastructures, has exchanged some actions relating to these fields, including Caterpillar, manufacturer of building and mining equipment; CSX, The Railroad Company; and Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane.

During his campaign, Bresnahan attacked his democratic opponent, Matt Cartwright, for not being able to Co-Sponsor to the legislation that made it worth eliminating the practice.

“This is the topic of bipartisan legislation right now in the Chamber that I would happily would have co-sponsor,” he wrote in the letter to the publisher. “My opponent, Matt Cartwright, is not a co-sponsor of this bill.”

Since he arrived in Capitol Hill, Mr. Bresnahan has yet to do it alone. He did not access the Law on Corruption in Government Act, a Bipartisan bill that would forbid the trading of Insider by the members of the congress and their spouses. Nor has he added his name to the Trust in Congress Act, a bill that would require legislators, their spouses and children to place certain goods in blind trusts while serving in charge.

In recent months, Bresnahan has exchanged tens of thousands of dollars of actions in Alibaba, the e-commerce giant with close links with the Chinese Communist Party.

Between February and March, Bresnahan also downloaded the Tesla actions that he had held since last year, according to public registers.

Hannah Pope, spokesman for Mr. Bresnahan, said he had not yet co-supored the legislation on the subject because he had decided instead of presenting his own bill, which is still in the processing.

Mrs. Pope said that Mr. Bresnahan rely on a financial consultant to exchange actions for him and is never aware of the operations before they occur or when they occur. Also, he does not know the exchanges exchanged, he said.

“As the vast majority of the Americans, Rob does not manage his trade in shares and has never done so,” said Mrs. Pope. “Rob’s attention is the delivery of the people of Pennsylvania Nord -orientale -ensuring our border, continuing to revitalize our economy and repair our dilapidated infrastructure.”

The Alibaba trade, he added, was part of a wider strategic share package. When it was reported, Mr. Bresnahan’s team put the guardrail so that he was unable to exchange that escort again.

Donald K. Sherman, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a group of guard dog aligned to the Democrats, said that Mr. Bresnahan raised questions, in particular given his promises and commitments during the campaign.

“Even more important, these questions would not be asked if he had given up in committing themselves in the sale and purchase and possession of individual activities such as actions,” said Sherman. “He made the choice to apply for the congress. He has the choice not to be engaged in the stock market. This choice remains available for him.”

Sherman claimed that a ban was important because the public should not have wondered if the share wallets of the legislators were influencing the legislation and work of the Committee. Although there was no reason to believe that Mr. Bresnahan was not respecting the law, Sherman added: “Members who claim to hold back to a higher standard should try to satisfy this standard”.

The push to ban the trading of the congress actions began in 2020 after revelations That senators of both sides I had health actions exchanged After briefing behind closed doors on the Pandemia del Coronavirus.

However, the problem seems to have lost some steam with the departure from the congress of one of his most vocal champions, Abigail Spanberger, a former democratic representative of Virginia who now runs for the governor in the state.

“There is an opportunity for someone – perhaps a serial number – to take a leadership position on this,” said Sherman. “It is always a good time to support the ethical reforms that are supported by the majority of voters”.