Battleground House members introduce prediction market ban for politicians, federal candidates
As calls grow to ban lawmakers and top government officials from stock trading and using prediction markets, a group of House members from battleground districts wants to stop federal candidates from betting on campaigns.
The No Profiting from Public Service Act from Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., and co-sponsored by Reps. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, and Eugene Vindman, D-Va., would prevent politicians, Supreme Court justices, federal judges and other officials from trading stocks and using prediction markets while serving in public roles, according to a proposal shared with ABC News.
It would also ban dependents and spouses from owning and trading stocks.
"It's simple: no elected official or public servant should be trading on the information they get from their jobs," McDonald Rivet said in a statement to ABC News.
The group of lawmakers isn't the first to propose banning or limiting stock trading and the use of prediction markets by federal elected officials, judges and senior staffers, but it would also extend the proposal to cover candidates for Congress.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said recently he would consider adding language that would limit lawmakers' use of prediction markets, according to Bloomberg Government.
"This bipartisan legislation seeks to root out corruption, including insider trading and self-enrichment," Kiley said. "It's time that elected, appointed, and other senior officials across all three branches of government are held accountable. This bill prohibits officials from profiting off of their public offices through stock trading and prediction markets.
The new legislation comes as the federal government -- and even the prediction markets themselves -- are conducting more oversight over alleged insider bets.
In April, federal authorities arrested a special operations soldier involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for allegedly making more than $400,000 for betting on his removal from office.
In June, ABC News reported that federal regulators were investigating former Rep. George Santos for possible insider trading on a series of Kalshi prediction market bets he made on his own attendance at the State of the Union.
