Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti (D) renewed calls for a ban on congressional stock trading this week while unveiling an eight-point anti-corruption plan in her race against US Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R).
“ What we saw in Rob Bresnahan when he came to office is another example in northeastern Pennsylvania of someone getting a job as a public official and using it to line their own pockets,” Cognetti told supporters at the United Association Local 524 union hall in on Thursday.
Cognetti cut her teeth by taking on Scranton’s political machine, earning the moniker “Paige Against the Machine.” She ran for mayor as an independent in 2019 and replaced previous mayor Bill Courtright, who resigned and was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for bribery and extortion.
“ This is not a new scenario. We have seen this far too many times in this region, generation after generation, different iterations, different ways that people have decided to line their pockets,” she said.
While campaigning for the US House in 2024, Bresnahan penned an op-ed promising to ban stock trading and calling the practice “sickening,” but since taking office last year, the freshman lawmaker has become one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress making nearly 650 trades valued at over $8.43 million.
When getting ready to vote for President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included a $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, Bresnahan sold between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of bonds from the Allegheny County Hospital Development Authority for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
NBC News then reported that Bresnahan sold up to $130,000 in Medicaid-related stocks from Centene, Elevance Health, United Health, and CVS Health in May.
“[Congressional stock trading] goes way beyond party,” Cognetti said. “It does not matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat–I don’t care what label you have next to your name on a ballot–if you are trading stocks in Congress, that is wrong.”
The other key aspects of Cognetti’s anti-corruption campaign include banning corporate political action committee (PAC) donations, withholding pay for legislators if a budget is not completed in a timely fashion, 18-year term limits for members of the US House, Senate, and US Supreme Court, auditing government agencies, and banning members of Congress from serving on corporate boards while in office or serving as lobbyists after they leave office.
Cognetti is also calling for a congressional ban that prevents lawmakers and staffers from participating in prediction markets such as Kalshi or Polymarket, especially when it comes to making trades on war or government actions.
“The prediction markets have absolutely exploded since we launched our campaign. Similar to stock trading, this is just another opportunity for either true conflicts of interest–or perceived conflicts of interest,” Cognetti said.
According to Cognetti, Bresnahan’s stock trading record is having a groundswell across the northeastern Pennsylvania district.
“ There are folks that I hear from that I’ve never met, even in Scranton, but certainly throughout the district, that are interested in helping our campaign because they see in Bresnahan exactly what they have grown over generations to loathe,” Cognetti said.
