Steil pushes to bar lawmakers from trading on Kalshi and Polymarket
Rep. Bryan Steil, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, is pushing to add prediction markets to the congressional stock trading ban bill. The amendment would prohibit lawmakers from trading on platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket, extending existing restrictions on congressional stock ownership to cover event-contract positions. Steil's effort follows Senate action on similar restrictions and comes as House Republicans weigh a summer vote on the broader package. The bill faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, and top Democrats have signaled likely opposition. Steil is identified as a Wisconsin Republican in some reports.
Polymarket and Kalshi would lose their highest-profile organic user segment if congressional accounts are forced to close, stripping both platforms of the political insider flow that drives liquidity on Capitol Hill-adjacent contracts. The ban would also pressure competing platforms to build real-time surveillance systems capable of flagging elected-official trades before regulators demand them.
Becomes the second federal legislative push this week to restrict elected officials from prediction markets, joining a separate House bill that would ban election betting by lawmakers and candidates.