2 Trump allies bought Tesla before Musk fallout, lawmaker trading reports show
Greene, meanwhile, has been a consistent buyer of Tesla all year. Her disclosures also reveal eight trades this year, all purchases in that same range of $1,001-$15,000.
Both lawmakers also have significant overlap with Elon Musk and his business interests.
Greene is the chair of a House DOGE subcommittee, where she has loudly supported Musk's efforts. Some of her more vocal comments — such as urging on Trump administration investigations into violent Tesla protests — have raised questions among some ethics experts who recently noted to Forbes that House ethics rules currently prohibit lawmakers from taking action to benefit their own financial interest.
Bresnahan sits on the House's transportation committee, which is involved in issues related to both Tesla and another of Musk's companies, SpaceX (SPAX.PVT).
A years-long focus on lawmaker stock trading
This week's disclosure is the latest twist in a debate around the ethics of lawmakers trading stocks that has raged for years — from some high-profile trades in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to a renewed focus recently when data showed lawmaker trading activity spiking as Trump roiled markets with his "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Two of the most prolific traders in that recent stretch of tariff-fueled trading — a Wall Street Journal analysis found — were Bresnahan and Democrat Ro Khanna of California. Both lawmakers have previously supported banning the practice.
Khanna also purchased Tesla stock as recently as April, according to the Quiver Quantitative tallies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also recently said he is supportive of efforts toward a stock trading ban but didn't say whether he will bring up the effort for a House vote. Another prominent supporter is Trump, who has said he would sign a ban if it reached his desk.
One bill, called the TRUST in Congress Act, would require lawmakers and their spouses and children to place certain assets into blind trusts. The bill currently has 76 cosponsors, with 62 Democrats and 14 Republicans supportive.
But that bill has been introduced repeatedly in recent years without seeing action as lawmakers from both parties express support for the idea of stock bans even while continuing to trade.
Bresnahan was elected to his first term in Congress last year and has emerged as just the most recent example.
He expressed support for a ban on the campaign trail last year, writing at the time that "the idea that we can buy and sell stocks while voting on legislation that will have a direct impact on these companies is wrong and needs to come to an end immediately."
Since entering Congress, Bresnahan has also unveiled a plan that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading while in office but allow them to keep existing holdings, calling it the Transparency in Representation through Uniform Stock Trading Ban (TRUST) Act.
This post has been updated.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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