Warren, Merkley Press White House Over Aide's Kalshi Bets

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley sent White House Counsel Will Scharf a letter asking how the administration stops staff from betting on prediction markets using nonpublic information. The letter is dated Nov. 9 and asks for a reply by Nov. 23, Fortune and The Block report; the senators posted it on Merkley's site.

Details

The trigger is the case of Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator. According to Fortune, he made more than $100,000 on Kalshi by betting on words President Donald Trump would use in speeches. In August the CFTC ordered him to give up the profits, pay a penalty and stay out of trading for three years. Per AP, the penalty was $65,000 and the disgorged profits more than $107,000, about $173,000 in total.

The senators ask how the White House is handling the allegations, whether other employees used nonpublic information to bet, and what training on handling confidential information is available to staff. Warren also faults the response so far: she says the only public step has been a warning memo. The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment.

What this means for the market

Prediction markets, including Kalshi and Polymarket, are already under pressure from regulators and states: the CFTC is scrutinizing exchanges and states are filing suits. Warren, who is set to chair the Senate Banking Committee after the midterms (see our earlier report), has named insider trading on such venues as an early priority. The letter carries no subpoena power, but it signals the committee's agenda from January.

For market participants it hints at tighter scrutiny of insider trades on event contracts. The White House has no formal obligation to reply.