GOP Lawmaker Caught 'Selling' Stock in Healthcare Group That Accepts Medicaid as 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Passes House, Trade Insider Says
According to Quiver Quantitative, which tracks stock trading among insiders, including Congress, Bresnahan sold his shares in Centene Corporation on May 15, days before the House initially advanced President Donald Trump's so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes sweeping tax cuts and spending increases. Critics warn the legislation could strain Medicaid funding and other social safety net programs.
Centene ($CNC) stock has since cratered, falling over 43% since Bresnahan's trade, while the broader S&P 500 (SPY) rose about 5% in the same period.
The "Big, Beautiful Bill" passed the Senate last week and returned to the House after amendments were made. The massive tax and spending bill passed the House once again Thursday and now heads to Trump's desk.
Bresnahan insists he does not personally manage his investments and says his financial advisor made the trade. He has pledged to place his assets into a blind trust but, according to Quiver Quantitative, has yet to do so.
In early May, Bresnahan introduced a bill to ban congressional stock trading. He campaigned on restoring trust in government, but has come under scrutiny after disclosures revealed he reportedly made over $4 million in trades during his first months in office.
Originally published on Latin Times
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
4 hours ago
- DW
Trump signs 'Big Beautiful Bill' into law – DW – 07/05/2025
The signature policy enacts key parts of Donald Trump's agenda and could cement his second-term legacy. US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping tax and spending bill into law on Friday, a day after Congress narrowly passed it. It makes his 2017 tax cuts permanent, slashes federal spending on federal safety-net programs, and funds a major expansion of border security and defense. "I've never seen people so happy in our country because of that, because so many different groups of people are being taken care of: the military, civilians of all types, jobs of all types," Trump said at the signing ceremony during a Fourth of July picnic at the White House. It passed the House by just four votes, with nearly all Democrats and two Republicans opposing over concerns about health care cuts and a projected $3 trillion (€2.5 trillion) increase to the national debt. After a hard-fought legislative process, Trump achieved his goal of signing the signature policy bill on US Independence Day. "America's winning, winning, winning like never before," Trump said. He thanked the Republican lawmakers who helped pass the bill in Congress, especially House Speaker Mike Johnson who was on hand to witness the signing. The bill, dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," calls for tax breaks and increases in defense spending and immigration enforcement. "So you have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history," Trump said. At the same time, it will shrink the federal food assistance program and force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. According to some estimates, up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the bill. Analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also suggests it will add more than $3 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that Trump's signature on the legislation "sealed the fate of the Republican Party, cementing them as the party for billionaires and special interests — not working families." He predicted the law would cost Republicans votes in next year's congressional elections in 2026. "This legislation will hang around the necks of the GOP for years to come," he said. Democrats are rolling out an ambitious campaign of rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus tours, and even a multiday vigil, aimed at spotlighting the most controversial aspects of the legislation. "This was a full betrayal of the American people," Martin said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Int'l Business Times
17 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Stocks, Dollar Drop As Tariff Talk Dominates
Stock markets mostly fell alongside a retreating dollar Friday as international tensions over tariffs dominated sentiment. Traders digested news also of Congress narrowly passing US President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending bill that analysts argue risks ballooning national debt and wider inflation. On tariffs, Trump said he planned to start sending letters informing trading partners of their import levies as soon as Friday, as negotiations to avoid higher US rates entered the final stretch. European stock markets retreated around midday, also as China said it will impose "anti-dumping" taxes of up to 34.9 percent on cognac and other brandy imported from the European Union starting from Saturday. Asian stock markets closed out the week mixed. Oil prices extended losses, with OPEC and the cartel's crude-producing allies expected this weekend to announce a rise to output. The main focus heading into next week was on Trump's tariff plans. "We draw ever closer to Wednesday's reciprocal tariff deadline, and thus traders are likely to grow jittery despite the tentative signals of a potential pathway to a deal," noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro trading group. Governments around the world have fought to hammer out tariff deals with Washington after Trump unveiled a blitz of levies in early April. He and his top officials have said several were in the pipeline, but only Britain and Vietnam have signed pacts. China has agreed to a framework for it and the United States to slash tit-for-tat tolls and ship certain products. The prospect that trading partners from Japan and South Korea to India and Taiwan could be hit with stiff tariffs fuelled fresh worries about the global economy. Uncertainty leading up to next week's cut-off tempered the positive lead from another record Thursday on Wall Street, where a forecast-busting US jobs report soothed worries about the world's top economy. It dented the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its July policy meeting, with bets now on two reductions before the end of the year -- the first likely in September. However, analysts suggested that all was not what it seemed, pointing to softness in the private sector. "We think that private-sector hiring has stalled, and we may see sporadic layoffs in some industries in the coming months," warned analysts at Japanese financial group MUFG. "Despite the unemployment rate having fallen... the flow of potential workers that remained out of the labour force rose sharply in June, further highlighting the weak hiring environment. "We continue to view labour demand as being fundamentally weak relative to the past several years," they added. Wall Street will be closed on Friday for the US Independence Day holiday. London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,797.25 points Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,690.02 Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,784.66 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 39,810.88 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,916.06 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,472.32 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 6,279.35 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1778 from $1.1755 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3651 from $1.3642 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.37 yen from 145.06 yen West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $66.40 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $68.19 per barrel
Int'l Business Times
21 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump To Sign 'Big, Beautiful' Bill On US Independence Day
US President Donald Trump will sign his flagship tax and spending bill Friday in a pomp-laden Independence Day ceremony featuring fireworks and a flypast by the type of stealth bomber that bombed Iran. Trump pushed Republican lawmakers to get his unpopular "One Big Beautiful Bill" through a reluctant Congress in time for him to sign it into law on the US national holiday -- and they did so with a day to spare Thursday. Ever the showman, Trump will now meld a victory lap over the bill -- which cements his radical second term agenda -- with a grand party at the White House marking 249 years of independence from Britain. Trump announced that he would have a signing ceremony at the White House at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Friday, and that the pilots who carried out the bombing on Iran were among those who had been invited. "We have the hottest country anywhere in the world today," the jubilant president told supporters at a rally in Iowa Thursday where he boasted of a "phenomenal" victory in passing the bill. "The age of America is upon us. This is a golden age." The bill is the latest in a series of big political wins at home and abroad for Trump, and underlines the 79-year-old's dominance over both the Republican Party and US politics at large, for now. But the tycoon and former reality TV star has glossed over deep concerns from his own party and voters that it will balloon the national debt, and gut health and welfare support. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the ceremony would be "on the Fourth of July, just as the president always said and hoped it would be." First Lady Melania Trump was also set to attend the Independence Day event. The president's wife had told reporters on Thursday that a B-2 bomber, the type of aircraft that bombed Iran's nuclear facilities on June 22, and fighter jets would carry out a flypast for the July 4 event. And Trump told the rally-goers in Iowa that the pilots and others who worked on the mission would join him for the festivities. "They're going to be in Washington tomorrow, at the White House, we're going to be celebrating," he said. Trump forced through the bill despite deep misgivings in the Republican Party -- and the vocal opposition of his billionaire former ally, Elon Musk. It squeezed past a final vote in the House of Representatives 218-214 after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral the final group of dissenters. The sprawling mega-bill honors many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and the US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. But it is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the US deficit. At the same time it will shrink the federal food assistance program and force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. Up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the bill, according to some estimates. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close as a result. Democrats hope public opposition to the bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.
