Rep. Tim Burchett’s charge: In a post-election video highlighted by The Gateway Pundit (Nov. 4, 2026), Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett—fresh off reelection in the state’s 2nd District—said Republicans lost because of affordability pressures tied to diesel prices and because voters see Congress as corrupt on stock trading. “We are crooked as a dog’s leg,” Burchett said in the video, according to the outlet.
Diesel prices—and two bills he says leadership shelved
The Gateway Pundit reports Burchett blamed “gouging” by oil companies, saying they posted “record profits” while farmers and truckers paid the price. The outlet says that in September he introduced H.R. 10423 (a temporary diesel export ban through January 2027) and H.R. 10422 (the Diesel Price Reduction Act, which would trigger export controls if the national average hit $5 per gallon until it stayed at or below $4.50 for 30 days). According to the report, Burchett argued refiners’ margins were near $117 per barrel (about $2.78 per gallon) versus historical levels around $15 per barrel (about 35 cents)—an increase he characterized as roughly 800%—and that companies were exporting U.S. diesel while domestic users faced higher costs.
The Gateway Pundit further reports Burchett said experts he consulted believed those measures could have lowered fuel prices by up to $1 per gallon “overnight,” but party leadership did not advance the bills. In the video, he also asserted, “We get zero oil out of the Straits of Hormuz,” and accused oil companies of using that region as an excuse, per the outlet’s account.
‘A real ban’ on congressional stock trades—replaced by a weaker one, he says
Burchett also cited public distrust, saying Congress is “infinitely broken and crooked,” according to The Gateway Pundit. The outlet reports he and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna pushed a measure to prohibit members, spouses, and dependents from trading individual stocks, but he described the version that advanced as “very weak” and said it would not pass the Senate. He criticized touting that bill as meaningful reform and claimed some members post outsized returns “day in, day out,” per the video cited by the outlet.
His takeaway after the midterms
The Gateway Pundit frames the 2026 midterms as a GOP loss of congressional control and quotes Burchett saying those two issues—diesel prices and a tough stock-trading ban—could have changed the outcome. Despite moving into the minority, he said he would keep pressing leadership on both fronts, according to the outlet. Burchett shared the video on X on Nov. 5, 2026, from his account @timburchett.
Editor’s note: This report summarizes claims and quotations attributed to Rep. Tim Burchett as reported by The Gateway Pundit. Human review required.
