Warren, Merkley Press White House Over Kalshi Trading

At a glance Enforcement action

What happened

Senators Warren and Merkley pressed the White House for information regarding insider trading on prediction market platform Kalshi by a former Trump aide.

Why it matters

The probe targets the use of nonpublic government data on event contract platforms and raises conflict-of-interest questions around federal oversight.

Who is affected

White House staff, prediction market operators such as Kalshi, and federal market regulators including the CFTC.

Takes effect

2026-11-23

What's next

The White House Counsel is requested to provide detailed answers to the senators by Nov. 23, 2026.

Primary source

warren.senate.gov: Warren, Merkley Press White House for Answers on Insider Trading Scandal Involving Trump Teleprompter Aide

Key points

Senators Warren and Merkley demanded White House answers by Nov. 23, 2026, regarding internal ethics controls and prediction market trading ¹.

A former Trump aide settled CFTC allegations involving advance speech knowledge on Kalshi, paying $173,539 and taking a three-year ban ¹.

The inquiry highlights concerns regarding Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory positions and financial interests in prediction-market platforms ¹.

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have sent a letter to the White House Counsel demanding details regarding internal ethics controls following allegations of insider trading on event contract platform Kalshi ¹. The inquiry follows a regulatory enforcement action against a former presidential aide accused of using nonpublic information to profit from prediction markets ¹.

According to the senators, reports surfaced in July 2026 showing that Donald Trump's longtime teleprompter operator and former deputy assistant used advance knowledge of presidential speeches to place trades on Kalshi ¹. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission resolved the matter through an enforcement settlement that ordered the former official to pay $173,539 in monetary penalties alongside a three-year trading ban ¹. Warren and Merkley stated that the White House has yet to implement any publicly visible measures to tighten ethics policies and safeguard nonpublic federal data from similar abuses ¹.

Scrutiny Over Prediction Market Ties

The inquiry also focuses on potential conflicts of interest regarding connections between the Trump family and prediction-market platforms ¹. The senators highlighted that Donald Trump Jr. has maintained advisory roles and financial stakes tied to prediction-market operators, arguing that such relationships undermine confidence in impartial regulatory oversight ¹.

The lawmakers requested that the White House Counsel provide documentation on ethics enforcement actions and internal safeguards by Nov. 23, 2026 ¹.

Questions this story raises

What prompted the Senate letter to the White House?

A CFTC settlement penalizing a former Trump aide $173,539 for allegedly placing wagers on Kalshi using nonpublic speech text prompted the inquiry [1].

What deadline did the lawmakers set?

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley requested a formal response detailing ethics safeguards by Nov. 23, 2026 [1].

Sources

Written by Basis Desk's newsroom system from the primary sources above and machine-verified against them before publication. Market figures marked "at the time of writing" come from live exchange data. Report an error: corrections@basisdesk.news · corrections policy.

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Senators Warren and Merkley Demand White House Ethics Review Over Kalshi Insider Trading