Sen. John Curtis wants the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate presidential family members who use their access for private financial gain, specifically mentioning Donald Trump Jr.‘s ties to prediction markets and favorable decisions by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission since President Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789 Capital, which helped raise $1 billion for Polymarket. He’s served as an advisor for Kalshi since a week before his father took office last year.
Curtis mentioned Trump Jr.’s ventures in cryptocurrencies, international real estate deals and defense contracting before getting to prediction markets.
“This pattern extends to his significant financial and advisory ties to prediction-market platforms that depend on favorable federal regulatory decisions being considered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” Curtis wrote.
Just days after Trump returned to the Oval Office, Kalshi self-certified sports event contracts for the Super Bowl, and sports predictions have taken off exponentially since then.
Curtis urges for subpoenas
The letter to Chairman Charles Grassley and Ranking Member Richard Durbin centers around “members of presidential families using their names and proximity to the President to advance private business interests.” In addition to Trump Jr., Curtis names Hunter Biden, former president Joe Biden‘s son, in the letter.
Curtis argues that families of the president can receive favorable treatment, which may not be in the best interest of the American people or the country’s allies. He even said that these dealings “could even create national security vulnerabilities.”
Curtis is calling for the Senate Judiciary Committee to launch an investigation into presidential family relationships for private financial benefit.
“As part of that investigation, I urge the Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify regarding their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts, or other benefits they have received, and any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value,” Curtis wrote.
Curtis said the committee should use the investigation to determine whether current law already covers this kind of conduct, and if not, what reforms would stop those closest to a president from turning the office into a source of private profit.
Trump Jr.’s ties to prediction markets
In addition to helping fund Polymarket in the latest round of funding, Trump Jr. sits on the company’s advisory board. He’s also been a paid strategic advisor for Kalshi, receiving $300,000 in equity in January 2025.
According to the New York Times, Trump Jr. also told Republican state attorneys general that prediction markets should be overseen by federal officials, not state AGs. It was a message suggesting Republican attorneys general should “back off,” according to the Times.
Trump Jr. also serves on the Board of Directors for Trump Media, which announced plans to launch its own prediction market last October. Instead, it opted for a marketing deal that directs users of President Donald Trump’s social media platform to Crypto.com’s exchange.
