White House removes teleprompter operator who made over $90,000 by placing bets linked to Trump's speeches: Details

Published 17 July 2026 · us

A White House teleprompter operator is under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US federal regulator, for allegedly profiting from Kalshi prediction

A White House teleprompter operator is under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US federal regulator, for allegedly profiting from Kalshi prediction market wagers linked to US President Donald Trump's speeches. The accused, Gabriel Perez, who has worked as a teleprompter operator at the White House since 2016, allegedly placed bets on words that the US President would use during major public addresses, including the State of the Union address, ABC News reported. Here's what we know Kalshi said it froze over $90,000 in profits held in a customer's account after the trader allegedly relied on confidential information to make over $100,000 from bets placed on the exchange. It later alerted the CFTC, the regulator that views the platform as a derivatives exchange under the agency's jurisdiction, regarding the suspicious activity on its "Mentions" market, where users place bets on whether specific words, phrases, or topics are likely to be uttered during a speech.

Also Read | Kalshi adds India to restricted list after prediction market ban Apart from the State of the Union address in February, CFTC investigators also discovered that Perez made several bets on more than a dozen of Trump's speeches over three months. This includes a bet on the December primetime address, a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and his remarks in March at a Medal of Honor ceremony. Bobby DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said, "Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation. We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral." "Deeply unfortunate": White House Press Secretary In a briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Donald Trump believes the incident is "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace," adding that the employee was put on unpaid administrative leave, without naming him.

She added that she was unaware of any other White House staffers who have engaged in such trades. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, "The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow." Earlier in March, the White House issued an internal memo warning its staff against using confidential information to make bets on prediction markets, ABC reported. Also Read | Why has Trump refused to sign housing affordability bill approved by Congress? Who is Gabriel Perez? Perez has been Trump's teleprompter operator since his first presidential campaign. He is considered one of Trump's most trusted aides and is typically the last person to review nearly all of the US President's prepared remarks. He is also known to incorporate last-minute changes dictated by Trump. He has previously faced scrutiny from congressional and federal investigators over revisions made to Trump's remarks before his speech related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.