TLDR
- Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley sent a letter to White House Counsel Will Scharf.
- They want to know if other White House employees used inside information to place bets or trades.
- The CFTC ordered teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay more than $172,000 in August.
- Perez allegedly read Trump’s prepared remarks early and bet on Kalshi mention markets.
- Warren will lead the Senate Banking Committee after Democrats won both chambers in the midterms.
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley want to know if more White House staff used inside information to bet on prediction markets. They made the request in a letter to White House Counsel Will Scharf.
The letter follows a case involving Gabriel Perez, the White House teleprompter operator. Regulators say he used early access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to place bets.
The senators said the White House has failed to take “meaningful action to address ethics concerns.” They asked how the administration is responding to the allegations.
What the Senators Want to Know
Warren and Merkley asked whether any other employees “misappropriated insider knowledge to place any bets, trades, purchase contracts, or taken any similar action for personal gain.” The question covers staff beyond Perez.
They also asked whether White House staff receive training on how to handle nonpublic information. The senators want to know what rules are in place today.
The lawmakers said sending a warning memo is not enough. They pointed to steps taken by other administrations, including mandatory training for staff.
The senators said more action is needed from the President, from Scharf and from other White House officials. They said this is required to give the public confidence in the integrity of the federal government under Trump.
The letter described the case as tied to the White House’s “lax ethics and anticorruption policies and practices.” The senators said a key aide allegedly enriched himself by abusing access to nonpublic information.
The $172,000 CFTC Order
In August, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Perez to pay more than $172,000. The agency said he read Trump’s prepared remarks shortly before the speeches were delivered.
Perez allegedly used that early access to bet on Kalshi mention markets. These markets let users bet on specific words that public figures will say.
Because Perez saw the remarks in advance, he allegedly placed his bets before the public heard the speeches. The CFTC order was issued in late August.
His case is one of several involving inside information and prediction markets this year. In another case, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier allegedly used confidential information to bet on Polymarket.
Those bets were placed ahead of the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. The case drew attention to who can access sensitive information before the public.
Warren is set to take on a larger role after Democrats won control of the Senate and House in last week’s midterm elections. She will lead the Senate Banking Committee.
Warren has said she wants to “end the current Wild West-style lack of oversight in this area, with corrupt insiders profiting.” She made the comment about prediction markets.
Other Democrats are also focused on the sector. Rep. Ro Khanna, who is weighing a 2028 presidential bid, called for a ban on sports prediction markets on Tuesday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the senators’ letter.
