https://washingtonsun.com/money Money en-US Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:48:04 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/gil-cisneros-stock-act-disclosures-palantir Dave Levinthal Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros of California was late revealing more than 50 trades. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:48:04 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/gil-cisneros-stock-act-disclosures-palantir One of Congress’ most prolific stock traders violated a federal insider trading and transparency law by failing to properly disclose six-figures’ worth of purchases, according to new U.S. House financial records.

Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, was days or weeks late revealing more than 50 individual trades, including shares of defense contractors Palantir Technologies, Microsoft, Macom Technology Solutions and SPX Technologies.

Other tardy disclosures by Cisneros, who won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million in 2010, include trades in cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global, computer chip giant Nvidia, media conglomerate Paramount Skydance Corporation and ride-hailing platform Uber.

Taken together, Cisneros’ improperly disclosed stock trades are worth between $95,000 and $900,000. (Lawmakers are only required to list the values of their trades in broad ranges.) The records come as the U.S. Senate is considering the House-approved Stop Insider Trading Act, which would in part ban federal lawmakers from buying individual stocks.

Representatives for Cisneros acknowledged NOTUS’ request for comment but did not otherwise respond to phone and email messages.

It’s unclear whether Cisneros has or will pay a late-filing fine administered by the House Ethics Committee, which begins at $200 and may be waived at the committee’s discretion. Representatives for the committee, which is led by Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) — himself as STOCK Act violator this summer — did not respond to a request for comment.

In February, Cisneros told NOTUS that he doesn’t manage his own investments, and therefore, does not believe that his personal stock holdings conflict with his public service in Congress.

NOTUS’ Capitol Gains project estimated Cisneros’ median net worth to be $65.91 million entering 2025.

“I have a financial adviser, and you look at the size of my portfolio and you’ll understand why I have a financial adviser who makes all the decisions, and I trust him to do it,” Cisneros said. “I trust my adviser. As I always say, I got very lucky in life and I want to be able to protect it.”

Cisneros has made hundreds of other stock trades during the 119th Congress, House records indicate.

Among them: purchasing up to tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock in Palantir, which also has scored Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts, and $15,000 worth of SpaceX stock days after the Elon Musk-led company made its initial public offering of stock.

In June, Cisneros easily emerged from a competitive primary to advance to November’s general election, where he’s heavily favored to win reelection to California’s 31st Congressional District, which includes parts of eastern Los Angeles County.

In addition to Guest, Cisneros joins an ever-growing list of federal lawmakers who’ve violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions.

Since last summer, violators in the House include Reps. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio), Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan), Tracey Mann (R-Kansas), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Linda Sánchez (D-California), Julia Letlow (R-Louisiana), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Lisa McClain (R-Michigan), Pat Ryan (D-New York), Sheri Biggs (R-South Carolina), Derek Tran (D-California), Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey), Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), Rich McCormick (R-Georgia), Ritchie Torres (D-New York), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania), Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), George Whitesides (D-California), Val Hoyle (D-Oregon), Austin Scott (R-Georgia), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), Kelly Morrison (D-Minnesota), Christian Menefee (D-Texas), Daniel Webster (R-Florida), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Florida) and Scott Franklin (R-Florida). Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) was also late, although his office denies it.

Senators who’ve violated the STOCK Act during the past year include Sens. Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pritzker-midterms-money-new-pac-illinois-miller-herrera Jenna Monnin Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, plans to target Ohio’s Rep. Max Miller and Texas’ Brandon Herrera with ad buys. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:02:21 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pritzker-midterms-money-new-pac-illinois-miller-herrera Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker launched a new political action committee over the weekend that plans to funnel millions of dollars into Democratic House races ahead of the midterms.

Pritzker’s Ready for the Fight PAC — a phrase often used by the governor and repeated liberally in the committee’s first ad spot — plans to invest at least $20 million in what it considers to be overlooked and competitive races, according to Politico, which reported first on the spending push.

The committee will soon target what it deems “the worst of the worst MAGA Republicans,” with ad reservations against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who’s facing allegations of domestic abuse, and Texas’ Brandon Herrera, an incendiary internet personality who specializes in firearms and calls himself the “AK Guy.”

Both Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and Texas’ 23rd Congressional District lean red, but Pritzker sees them as potential wins for Democrats — with Trump’s approval rating dropping to record lows and midterm elections historically fairing well for the party that doesn't control the White House.

“As the affordability crisis continues, Democrats must think big and take the fight to every corner to support candidates in often-overlooked races,” a press release on the PAC reads. “With everything we care about on the line, Democrats cannot retreat to a handful of battleground races.”

The governor is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender for Democrats and often stands in strong opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies.

This week, Pritzker will be in Dallas with other Democrats to counter the inaugural GOP midterm convention, according to CNN.

In August 2025, Pritzker hosted a group of Texas lawmakers who fled the state to oppose a Trump-backed redistricting effort. Pritzker has also fought back against Trump’s tariffs that affect the Illinois soybean industry and has lambasted the president’s immigration policies.

Pritzker is running for his third term as Illinois governor, and this PAC will bring his fight against Trump’s agenda to the national stage ahead of the midterms — and a potential presidential run.

“Since launching his campaign in 2017, Gov. Pritzker has closed his speeches with the same question: are you ready for the fight? As Gov. Pritzker has proven in Illinois, Democrats can aggressively fight Trump’s dangerous agenda and deliver real results for working families,” the press release reads.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/self-funders-congressional-campaign-failing-to-win Mark Alfred Ultrarich politicians — in most cases — can’t buy a seat in Congress. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:03:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/self-funders-congressional-campaign-failing-to-win It’s still exceedingly difficult to buy oneself a seat in Congress.

During the 2026 midterms, a record number of wealthy Americans — 69 — have spent more than $1 million of their own money to support their campaigns for federal office.

And with primary season ending in the next several days with contests in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware, about two-thirds of these self-funding candidates have turned out to be losers who couldn’t advance to the November general election.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ub0ox/4/Those who bet big on themselves to win their races for Congress collectively loaned their campaigns $160 million.

At the extreme, former Rep. David Trone burned through about $25 million of his own cash only to lose in his Maryland 6th Congressional District primary by 7 percentage points to fellow Democratic Rep. April McClain Delaney.
David.Trone.1 (5515x3677, AR: 1.50)In Arizona, businessman Daniel Keenan spent $1.6 million on his failed bid to replace Republican Rep. Andy Biggs.

Keenan says the run was well worth it even if he lost the Republican primary to former county sheriff Mark Lamb in July.

“I did it to contribute to my country, to do the best I can to make my country better off for my kids,” he said. “It was never for personal gain or ego or anything like that.”

Keenan also expects to one day run again: “I worked my butt off … went from polling at 1% to capturing nearly 42% of the vote. I think we ran a really good campaign and set myself up well for future runs.”

Still, Keenan said he was surprised by “the amount of prominent Republicans who privately reached out to me and supported me” but wouldn’t do so publicly.

“I was the most Trump-aligned candidate and again defending all those policies at every chance I could, and it was difficult not getting the support from the White House,” he said.

On the other end of that spectrum is Thomas Chalifoux, a retired Army colonel and businessman who sought the Republican nomination in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.

Chalifoux placed third in the Republican primary, having spent upward of $2 million on his ultimately failed campaign. It was a worse showing than his 2024 bid for the same seat, which saw him secure the GOP nomination but lose in the general election to Democratic Rep. Darren Soto.

That race also cost him upward of $2 million — a fraction of his net worth, which sits at around $270 million, per his most recent federal financial disclosure. Still, he is quick to point out: “I started with nothing, just like Elon Musk.”

Chalifoux previously taught military strategy at the Army Command and General Staff College and, more than anything, seemed disappointed he would not have the chance to go against the “bunch of rubber stamps in Congress” who have supported President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

“The Iran ‘Epic Fury’ is just poorly, poorly planned. We've got a mess on our hands, and it makes American military power look much worse,” Chalifoux said. Trump “created a climate where no one wants to disagree because he's very vindictive.”Might he try a third time come 2028?

“I don't know. I'm 78 … people look at that as being too old. I'm not too old,” he said, noting he is a “world-class bodybuilder” whose mother “is over 100, so I've got that longevity in my family.”

Earlier this year, Keith Gross and John Fleming, candidates for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District and U.S. Senate in Louisiana, respectively, each spent around $12 million on their failed primary campaigns.
John.Fleming (7023x4682, AR: 1.50)Democrat Peter Chatzky entered, then exited, the race for New York's 17th Congressional District after the resurfacing of lewd social media posts in March. He ultimately recouped $10.7 million of the $11.3 million he had loaned his campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The number of self-funders who ultimately lost their elections is expected to grow in November.

Don Tracy and Barb Regnitz, the Republican nominees for U.S. Senate in Illinois and Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, respectively, each put in upward of $2 million into their campaigns so far. But both are vying for “solid” or “likely” Democratic seats and are expected to lose.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/lev-parnas-congress-money-payments-fec-florida Taylor Giorno Parnas’ campaign told regulators it paid the Florida companies for “PR services” and “strategy consulting.” Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:33:11 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/lev-parnas-congress-money-payments-fec-florida Lev Parnas’ Florida congressional campaign paid a cleaning company and makeup artist thousands of dollars for services they don’t appear to provide — raising questions about whether funds were used for personal expenses.

The campaign of Parnas — a former Rudy Giuliani ally sentenced to prison earlier this decade in part for campaign finance crimes — disclosed paying $18,500 in April to Hands at Work LLC for “PR Services,” according to FEC records.

Hands at Work LLC is a cleaning company, according to a man who identified himself as the son of Marelbi Franco, who is listed as the company manager on Florida business records, when contacted by NOTUS. Franco’s son ended the call after NOTUS asked what PR services the Parnas campaign had paid the cleaning company to handle.

The Parnas campaign’s address is a mailbox at a UPS store in Miami, and the campaign has not disclosed in its FEC reports ever paying for physical campaign office space.

The Parnas campaign also paid $3,000 in May to Le Tropique Inc. for “strategy consulting,” according to its latest FEC report. Le Tropique Inc. is a Florida-based makeup studio owned by Terry Jacobs, who did not respond to an email or phone call requesting comment.

Most of the $30,000 Parnas’ campaign committee has raised through June went to services from Hands at Work LLC and Le Tropique Inc., according to FEC records.

Federal campaign finance law prohibits the use of campaign funds for personal expenses.

Hands at Work "does diverse work," the unnamed Parnas spokesperson wrote in an email to NOTUS following publication of this article.

"In this situation it paid subcontractors who handled only campaign-related tasks such as communication strategies and community engagement strategy," the spokesperson wrote.

And in addition to being "a well known makeup artist," according to the spokesperson, Jacobs "also provides outreach consulting, including helping organize door‑knocking in senior centers (she is a senior citizen herself) centers and entities which she contacted for the campaign."

Parnas campaign treasurer Andrew Madras did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Prior to publication, NOTUS tried several phone numbers for Parnas and eventually reached a person who identified themself as one of Parnas’ representatives. The person, who did not offer their name, declined to provide Parnas’ contact information but said they would pass on NOTUS’ inquiry.

On Tuesday, Parnas told his 82,000 Substack subscribers that his “campaign is real” and warned there was “a coordinated effort to disrupt our community by spreading lies and misinformation about me and my campaign.”

“As I have been warning you, organized disinformation campaigns are being carried out by paid actors whose goal is to discredit, divide, and disrupt our community,” Parnas wrote. “That is why facts matter. That is why transparency matters. And that is why I will always show you the receipts.”

A key figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Parnas has rebranded himself as an anti-Trump crusader and built a sizable social media following — although his online presence pales in comparison to that of his son, Aaron Parnas, a prominent Democratic influencer and news aggregator who has more than 5 million TikTok followers.

The elder Parnas’ entry in electoral politics this year had proven decidedly turbulent.

Parnas initially filed to run as a Democrat in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar. He then amended his federal election paperwork in June to run as an independent in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, which leans Republican, according to the nonpartisan election handicappers at the Cook Political Report.

“I helped build MAGA, and now I promise you I will do everything in my power to dismantle the corruption surrounding it piece by piece, truth by truth, until democracy wins,” Parnas said in a video on his Subtack announcing his campaign.

At present, Parnas’ name does not appear on the Florida Division of Elections’ list of congressional candidates, as independent journalist Troy Barile first noted on Medium.

After publication, Gretl Plessinger, communications director at the Florida Department of State, told NOTUS that the website list was up to date and the "qualifying dates for Florida congressional candidates have passed."

Parnas’ campaign has not spent any money on traditional political advertising, according to the ad tracking platform AdImpact. Parnas personally posts frequently on his YouTube page, including a recent interview with Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.

Parnas burst into the national spotlight during Trump’s first impeachment trial, where Trump faced charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Parnas, who was born in Ukraine, alleged Giuliani sent him to urge the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into the Bidens ahead of the 2020 presidential election — and that Trump “knew exactly what was going on,” an allegation Trump has denied.

In 2021, a jury convicted Parnas of campaign finance crimes, among others, for conspiring to funnel money from a Russian oligarch into U.S. elections. He was sentenced in 2022 to 20 months in prison and was released in September 2023, according to the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate database.

Parnas and Hunter Biden reconciled after his release. During his interview with the younger Biden, which was released last week on Kick, Parnas again apologized to the entire Biden family.

“What we’re seeing play out in Trump 2.0 is the sicker we could get, the more crazier we could do it, the more sycophantic we could become,” Parnas said, adding, “It’s just incredible to watch, man.”

This article has been updated to include a comment from the Parnas campaign and Florida Department of State.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/kalshi-prediction-market-congress-legislation Mark Alfred Even guardrails supported by prediction market platforms are stuck in limbo. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:03:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/kalshi-prediction-market-congress-legislation Kalshi's profit margins depend on keeping Washington on its good side. It's spending big in D.C. to make that happen as the prediction market company manages regulatory threats, potential legislative action and public relations challenges.

Kalshi now has over two-dozen federal lobbyists working on its behalf. Almost all of them have congressional bona fides, including a pair of one-time legislative directors under Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of former chiefs of staff and senior counsels to other lawmakers.

Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln herself is on Kalshi’s influence team. And the company recently brought on Tony Hanagan, a well-liked and well-connected longtime Republican cloakroom staffer, as its head of congressional affairs.

Kalshi, which currently lets prognosticators in every state put money on the odds of the outcomes of all sorts of future events, including politics, even hired a former communications director for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) — an arch-critic of prediction markets — to lobby government officials.

“Kalshi is leading the push for bipartisan legislation that protects consumers, keeps minors off our platform, and makes insider trading bans standard across the industry,” John Bivona, Kalshi’s head of federal government relations, told NOTUS in a statement. “We’ve worked with dozens of lawmakers from both parties on these priorities, and we welcome partnering with anyone serious about responsible regulation.”

It's message the company has worked to spread across D.C., often by plastering it across the district’s buildings and Metro stops.
Kalshi.bans (8153x5435, AR: 1.50)Kalshi.regulated (4959x3306, AR: 1.50)Lawmakers of both parties and chambers have together introduced more than two-dozen bills this year alone that aim to put guardrails on prediction markets.

But while senators have barred themselves from prediction market trading, and the House has banned trades over congressional Wi-Fi, neither chamber has passed any meaningful legislation curtailing what kind of bets prediction markets may offer or who can use the markets.

“The challenge going forward is … organizations like this make massive amounts of money,” Merkley told NOTUS. “Billions of dollars have flowed through this expansive casino. They’re going to spend massive sums on lobbyists and media campaigns and so forth to try to make sure it doesn't get shut down. And they have the support of the president.”

Kalshi has expressed support for one congressional bill — the Prediction Market Act of 2026 — that would bar the president and members of Congress from placing trades. It’s also blessed Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s bill to keep children off prediction market platforms.

“I give Kalshi credit for supporting the legislation instead of ducking the issue,” Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, said in a statement.

But even these bills supported by Kalshi remain in limbo with fewer than four months remaining in the current Congress.

Event contracts — a bet on the real-world outcome of an upcoming occurrence — have long had real-world uses, such as when farmers use them as a hedge to minimize potential losses.

But in just a few short years, prediction market sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket, a rival platform that largely operates overseas, have made betting a frictionless experience for any American with an internet connection. Some lawmakers of both parties view this as a loophole to allow for national online gambling.

“That’s all it is,” said Rep. Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah, a state whose constitution outlaws gambling and whose governor is fighting to bar companies like Kalshi from operating within its borders. “They have manipulated the concept of what a prediction market was, what it was intended for as a financial tool for centuries, and they have made this into very quick, simple, easy online gambling, mostly sports online gambling.”

Kalshi has long maintained the swaps it offers are legally distinct from gambling.

“It’s flat-out wrong to say that Kalshi is ‘indistinguishable from traditional sports betting,’” the company has said. “It’s unprecedented and overly aggressive for states to try to shut down a federally licensed exchange. It’s like if North Carolina wanted to shut down the stock market.”

Many in Congress aren’t buying it.

“They’re creating opportunities for people to bet on an event that people don't know the outcome to,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said. “That's gambling, isn't it?”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco took that same view last week when it ruled that the states can regulate prediction market platforms as a form of gambling. The ruling contradicted the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals’ prior finding in favor of Kalshi’s view.

“Fortunately, they are losing in their lawsuits to stop states from reining them in or shutting them down,” said Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal. His state, Connecticut, is one of 20 that have sued to regulate prediction markets. The Supreme Court is likely to decide their ultimate success or failure.

Blumenthal and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama) introduced a bill to bar social media sites from advertising prediction markets to minors, one of several bills in the space that have garnered some support across party lines.

“Regardless of how you feel about prediction markets, it's clear that underage use of these prediction markets can pose the same risk as underage gambling,” Britt said. “It's now time for us to tell the social media companies and to tell bad actors in the gaming space and those that are intentionally targeting underage individuals that they're off limits.”
Katie Britt AP-23066750084653 (7844x5229, AR: 1.50)Kalshi’s slogan is “Trade on anything,” whether that be the winner of this season of “America’s Got Talent” or the timing of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. Wagering on anything has proven to be lucrative. Kalshi was valued at $22 billion in a March fundraising round and has partnered with major sports teams and media companies.

A bill introduced in the House by Moore would disallow platforms from offering “event contracts based on those really troublesome areas, from terrorism to assassinations, war, gaming, illegal activity.”

“Betting on who wins the opening coin toss of a football game is one thing, and it's stupid,” Moore said. “But when we're betting on these types of things, about the scope of a wildfire, we should pause as a society.”

Kalshi was not one of the multiple platforms that offered bets related to the Palisades fires in 2025. (The platform does host a subpage where users can place bets on the timing and intensity of various natural disasters.)

For some lawmakers, the fires marked their first experience with prediction markets — one that angered them. Further reports of political candidates' insider trading have only deepened their animosity toward the platforms.

Other lawmakers have taken a different tack, seeking to limit who can participate in prediction markets.

Democratic Reps. Nikki Budzinski of Illinois and Eugene Vindman of Virginia separately introduced bills to keep certain federal officials, such as lawmakers and members of the military, from making trades.
Eugene Vindman AP-24073728671216 (7757x5172, AR: 1.50)“It’s very narrowly focused,” Budzinski said in an interview. “It is the only bipartisan House bill that’s out there right now that would basically say that if you're in public service, someone like myself that has, because of the nature of my position, information that is sensitive government information, that I shouldn't be monetizing that through the prediction market space.”

Others are gunning for the industry’s throat, casting prediction markets’ very existence as an existential threat to Democracy.

“When the American people go to vote, we all are in effect inhabiting a public office,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) said. “So we don't want people betting on elections and then selling their votes or renting their votes for the purposes of winning their bet.”

Raskin’s bill would prevent trading on elections, “government actions,” pending court decisions and sports — effectively eliminating the vast majority of markets offered by Kalshi and no doubt cratering its multibillion-dollar valuation. Merkley introduced the bill’s Senate counterpart.

“Betting on public elections, betting on the outcome of legislation and betting on the outcome of judicial decisions would all fundamentally undermine and ultimately destroy the integrity of constitutional government,” Raskin continued.

Kalshi is quick to remind that it’s regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which, under President Donald Trump, bills itself as the sole entity with authority over prediction markets. It’s gone so far as to sue some of the states that have tried to impose their own regulations.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has worked as a paid adviser to Kalshi and is an investor in Polymarket, which received prime placement on the railing of the UFC ring constructed on the White House lawn — even as the White House has taken steps to prohibit trades on internal White House networks.
Polymarket.WhiteHouse (8640x5760, AR: 1.50)Polymarket employs three lobbyists, per the company’s most recent federal disclosures. They include David Urban, who advised all three of Trump’s presidential campaigns, and Keaghan Ames, a former senior policy adviser to a CFTC commissioner.

The Coalition for Prediction Markets, a trade group launched by Kalshi, brought on former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney as president and chief executive in January. Former Rep. Patrick McHenry, who acted as speaker pro tempore of the House after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in 2023, is a senior adviser.

Democrats, who hope to win control of both the House and Senate after November’s midterm elections, have made an anti-corruption agenda a key plank of their post-midterm plans, with particular focus on placing new restrictions on the executive branch.

Landsman’s Drain the Swamp Act folds Budzinski’s PREDICT Act into a raft of “anti-corruption” bills he hopes will be taken up should Democrats win back one or more chambers.

“I don't have a strong opinion about whether or not it's good or bad,” the congressman said of the platforms. “My big issue is the possibility of folks with insider information betting on political events, and it should be banned.”

Landsman attributed a dearth of prediction market-related legislative action to congressional Republicans’ lack of appetite for reigning in the Trump administration.

Blumenthal, however, argues: “What's holding up its passage is opposition from the prediction market company.”

“They are throwing their weight around in D.C., and they relish that prediction markets have become a haven for insider trading, market manipulation and underage gambling,” he said. “I've seen it, heard directly in their contacts with colleagues, public statements, distorting the legislation.”

Other lawmakers said they haven’t felt any such influence by Kalshi.

“I personally can't say that I felt any of that influence,” Vindman said. “I don't know, you know, like crypto, like AI, like these prediction markets; money has been flooding into politics. It's actually a real problem, and I think all of these sort of tech industries have recognized that there’s a way to influence through money, and it’s a real problem we got to deal with.”

In June, Kalshi co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara made maxed-out donations to Vindman’s primary campaign as he ran unopposed.

“I have talked to the founders, yep,” Vindman said.

NOTUS asked what was discussed and whether the conversation influenced his thinking.

“Well, look, there are a couple of different prediction markets, and there's one that is completely offshore; there's like a subsidiary where I've seen particular [abuses] is in that market, Polymarket,” Vindman said, citing the U.S.’s indictment of a soldier alleged to have wagered on the operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

“We need to, obviously, meet with these industries to understand how they operate,” he added. “Prediction markets are new, and so, like, there are plenty of folks that are just not aware of the size and scope of prediction markets amongst my colleagues.”

Consider that just three years ago, Kalshi was still seeking legal clearance to operate nationwide.

Merkley was among those warning that if the CFTC blessed a “large-scale, for-profit political event betting market in the United States,” it “would profoundly undermine the sanctity and democratic value of elections.”

Ultimately, Kalshi prevailed in court. It’s since grown into a multibillion-dollar enterprise.

“Once they won that court case, they’ve been full throttle ahead,” Merkley said.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/amy-klobuchar-campaign-finance-fec Jenna Monnin Amy Klobuchar’s Senate committee has until Oct. 1 to provide more details on a deal struck with her Minnesota gubernatorial campaign. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:01:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/amy-klobuchar-campaign-finance-fec Sen. Amy Klobuchar, an outspoken campaign finance reformer, is facing questions from federal regulators about a $42,000-plus transaction between her Senate and Minnesota gubernatorial committees.

“It appears that your committee has received money from the sale of campaign assets,” Lauren Schleyer, a senior Federal Election Commission campaign finance analyst, wrote in an Aug. 27 letter to the Minnesota Democrat’s Senate committee.

Minnesotans for Klobuchar, her gubernatorial committee, paid Klobuchar for Minnesota, her Senate campaign committee, $42,695.14 for an “asset transfer” on March 31.

A Klobuchar spokesperson told NOTUS the transfer involved a website domain and email list.

The FEC’s reporting guidelines require committees to provide “a brief explanation about the nature of the assets sold and whether or not the assets were sold at fair market rates,” but it appears that Klobuchar’s committee did not describe the transaction aside from labeling it “asset transfer” on its filing.

The FEC has asked Klobuchar’s federal campaign committee to amend its April quarterly report to include additional information about the “nature of the assets sold.” The commission also wants to know “whether or not these assets were sold at fair market rates.” Klobuchar has until Oct. 1 to respond.

“When Senator Klobuchar launched her campaign for governor, the gubernatorial campaign purchased a website domain and email list from the Senate campaign at fair market value and in full compliance with state and federal election law, a normal part of running for state office after previously being a federal candidate," a Klobuchar campaign spokesperson said. “FEC Requests for Additional Information are extremely routine — the FEC sends thousands of them every year — and this one is no exception.”

There are strict rules and limits governing contributions between federal and state campaigns.

Under the FEC’s regulations, a candidate’s state campaign could generally donate up to $2,000 to their federal committee — though Minnesota law prohibits the contribution or transfer of federal funds to a candidate’s state campaign. A candidate’s federal campaign would generally be allowed to sell assets to their state campaign as long as the sale was made at “fair market value.”

The FEC has sent more than 12,000 formal request for additional information letters, or RFAIs, to committees since 2025 — though the requests can range from federal regulators asking about simple corrections or clarifications to accusing committees of improperly accepting funds.

The FEC continues to flag candidates and committees for suspected campaign finance violations or filing mistakes despite not having enough commissioners to tend to its higher-level duties, such as conducting investigations, formalizing audits and issuing penalties.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/mint-1-dollar-coin-trump-image-circulation Jenna Monnin The front of the coins feature the president's image, and the presidential seal with a 250 inscription is on the back. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:29:25 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/mint-1-dollar-coin-trump-image-circulation The U.S. Mint began selling $1 coins with President Donald Trump’s image on Wednesday, the latest instance of the president being added to federal government materials.

The coins, which were announced in July, are being rolled out to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

They are being priced well above their face value: Buyers can get 25 $1 coins for $61 or a 100-count bag for $154.50. There is a limit of two orders per household, and the website to buy the coins appears to be putting potential buyers in a virtual waiting room due to the high demand. As of publication, the wait time was listed as more than an hour.

Trump’s image has already been added to limited-edition U.S. passports and the national parks’ annual pass.

Living presidents typically do not appear on currency, but the Trump administration relied on a 2020 law that he signed during his first term to allow his portrait on the coin. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act allows the U.S. Mint, only in 2026, to issue “$1 dollar coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.”

But Trump is not the first sitting president to appear on a coin. In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a half-dollar coin alongside George Washington to mark 150 years of the country’s independence — though the coin was intended to be a commemorative souvenir sold to the public, rather than to be used as currency like Trump’s coin.

“The coins — minted at the Philadelphia Mint — have circulating finishes but have never been placed into circulation. However, they may be still used as legal tender,” the U.S. Mint announced in its rollout of the $1 Trump coinage.

The U.S. Mint snuck 250,000 special-issue coins with a July 4th privy mark, or small symbol added to the currency, into some of the rolls and bags.

The Trump coin is gold-colored, but it is actually a mix of 88.5% copper with smaller quantities of zinc, manganese and nickel.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/trump-drug-enforcement-administration-terry-cole-financial-disclosure Dave Levinthal Terry Cole was months late disclosing stock purchases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/trump-drug-enforcement-administration-terry-cole-financial-disclosure Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole violated a federal financial disclosure law by failing to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of personal stock purchases, according to a NOTUS review of new federal records.

Cole was between four and five months late revealing December 2025 purchases of Tesla, Nike and Super Micro Computer stock that, taken together, is worth between $300,000 and $750,000, a filing with the independent Office of Government Ethics indicates.

Federal law requires high-ranking executive branch officials to publicly disclose individual stock trades within 45 days of making them. The government requires such disclosure to defend against insider trading, to curb conflicts of interest and to enhance transparency.

In a statement to NOTUS, the DEA said Cole requested on June 29 that the agency waive any fee for his late disclosure — penalties begin at $200 — and agency ethics officials granted that request.

“Administrator Cole had been in his position for only six months when he conducted these transactions,” the DEA said in its statement. “DEA’s ethics officials identified no conflicts.”

The DEA did not address other questions, including why Cole purchased the stocks and why he waited past a federal deadline to disclose them.

Office of Government Ethics spokesperson Patrick Shepherd declined to comment, noting his agency “does not respond to questions about specific individuals.”

Super Micro Computer stock has increased in value since Cole purchased his shares in December, while Nike and Tesla stock have declined in value.

Tesla, Nike and Super Micro Computer do not appear to do business with the DEA.

In a federal ethics agreement Cole signed in March 2025, prior to his Senate confirmation, he agreed to divest of stock he held in Amazon.com — a contractor for the Department of Justice, of which the DEA is a part — and “avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest” while leading the DEA.

Cole, who leads an agency of more than 10,000 people tasked with fighting drug traffickers and criminal syndicates, has served in law enforcement for more than three decades, including much of that time at the DEA. From 2023 to 2025, he served as Virginia's secretary of public safety and homeland security.

In addition to his current DEA position, which he assumed in July 2025 after a 50-47 Senate confirmation vote, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped Cole in August 2025 to lead Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Force. Cole’s appointment unraveled in a matter of days amid a legal fight over whether the Trump administration could effectively seize control of the city’s police department.

In addition to Cole, several top Trump administration officials have made notable personal financial trades or deals during recent months.

They include FBI Director Kash Patel, Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, former U.S. Agency for Global Media leader Kari Lake, Army Undersecretary Michael Obadal, Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Pedro Allende, Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator Douglas Troutman and former Department of Health and Human Services general counsel Mike Stuart.

Trump himself has been the subject of significant scrutiny regarding the intersection of his personal finances and public service. The president has reported thousands of stock and bond trades during the past year and has routinely engaged in private crypto and other business ventures since returning to the White House in 2025.

Congress is actively considering banning federal lawmakers — but not yet executive branch officials — from buying individual stocks in the first place.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/kalshi-george-santos-lifetime-ban-state-of-the-union-trump-insider-trading-prediction-market Jenna Monnin The ban and a financial penalty stem from the disgraced New York ex-congressman’s bets on his attendance at this year’s State of the Union. Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:24:31 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/kalshi-george-santos-lifetime-ban-state-of-the-union-trump-insider-trading-prediction-market Former Rep. George Santos received a permanent ban and a fine of more than $71,000 from the prediction market Kalshi after he placed wagers on his attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this year.

The disgraced congressman publicly posted about plans to attend the annual address in February — even asking what kind of suit he should wear in a now-deleted post. From Feb. 2 to Feb. 25, Santos began placing large bets on his own presence at the address, and by the time he posted that he was watching it from an airport TV, the New York Republican had already allegedly switched his bet.

“As a person capable of influencing the outcome of this underlying event, Santos was prohibited from trading in this market,” Kalshi wrote in a disciplinary notice released Monday.

Kalshi’s Compliance Department found that Santos had profited $17,839.57 from manipulating the “price of the Yes or No contracts that he intended to purchase.”

The notice also cited Santos’ lack of cooperation with Kalshi’s investigation. A representative from Kalshi told NOTUS in an email that Santos “evaded discussions with our compliance dept[ment].”

Santos is the first person to receive a lifetime ban from Kalshi, The Wall Street Journal reported. The ban went into effect Friday.

The former congressman spoke out against his ban in a series of posts on X, calling Kalshi “an unserious company” that “violates its own notices and deadlines.”

“On August 7th they gave us a 30 day notice and today they leaked/ announced once again their frivolous nonsense,” Santos wrote Monday. “Leaking and attention seeking seem to be the M/O of this organization. Pathetic!”

Kalshi told NOTUS that Santos can appeal the ban and the monetary penalty against him to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent federal agency that’s charged with regulating the prediction market.

Before this Kalshi violation in his private capacity, Santos faced a litany of financial mismanagement accusations while serving the public in Congress.

The House Ethics Committee found that Santos had misused campaign funds for personal expenses, deceived donors and improperly filed campaign finance reports, among other violations. Congress voted to expel him in December 2023.

Santos also pleaded guilty to federal charges of fraud and identity theft and was serving a seven-year prison sentence when President Donald Trump commuted it last year.

When Santos placed the bets in question on Kalshi in February, he had been out of federal prison for less than four months.

The Justice Department is also investigating whether his bets constituted insider trading, NPR reported in June. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Santos $35,000 for “manipulative trading” and levied a three-year trading ban on the former congressman in July.

Santos’ disciplinary notice from Kalshi came the same day the prediction market sanctioned Laurie Buckhout, the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Kalshi reported that Buckhout placed less than $1,000 worth of bets related to her campaign. Buckhout agreed to the terms of the settlement, which include a three-year suspension from the platform and fine of more than $2,500, according to Kalshi’s notice.

The district Buckhout is running in was rated “Lean R” by Cook Political Report after the state legislature approved a new map for U.S. congressional districts last year — making Democratic incumbent Rep. Don Davis’ seat vulnerable to a Republican flip this November.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/trump-former-teleprompter-operator-must-pay-fine-kalshi-gambling-scandal Angie Orellana Hernandez A federal agency said Gabriel Perez, who left his post July 29, unlawfully used his position in “breach of his duty of trust and confidence.” Sat, 29 Aug 2026 17:00:38 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/trump-former-teleprompter-operator-must-pay-fine-kalshi-gambling-scandal President Donald Trump’s former teleprompter operator must pay a civil penalty after he used inside knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets on a prediction market, a federal regulatory agency announced Friday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission settled insider trading charges against Gabriel Perez a month after he stopped working for the federal government. Perez is one of a few government employees who have been investigated for using sensitive information to gamble on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

The agency ordered Perez to forfeit the $107,539 in profits he made from the bets and pay a fine of $65,000. Perez received a “substantial discount” on the fine due to his “exemplary cooperation” with CFTC investigators, the news release said.

Perez is banned from trading on marketplaces for three years.

Federal investigators say Perez used his knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets on Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026 by gambling on words or phrases that the president may use. Kalshi’s surveillance team flagged the activity to the CFTC, according to the company’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault.

Perez had misappropriated his access to Trump’s speeches, the CFTC said Friday, “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence.”

Trump thought the incident was “deeply unfortunate,” former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said July 16. At the time, Perez had been placed on unpaid leave.

Lawmakers from both parties have advocated for legislation prohibiting federal elected officials and government employees from using insider information to place bets on prediction markets.]]>