Trump Jr. steps down as Kalshi adviser amid Democratic probe threat

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, announced Thursday (local time) that he would step down from his paid adviser role at prediction market Kalshi. Kalshi described the move as a mutual business decision, but analysts broadly view it as more than that — the announcement came just one week after the Democratic Party, which won the midterm elections, vowed to launch an intensive investigation into the Trump family.

Kalshi said Trump Jr.'s investment firm, 1789 Capital, had decided to increase its stake in Polymarket, a rival prediction market, and that Trump Jr. stepped down from his Kalshi advisory role out of concern over his ties to a competing firm.

The Guardian said the timing made it difficult to treat the departure as a purely commercial decision, noting it came just one week after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress and announced plans for a sweeping probe into the Trump family.

The Democratic Party has said it plans to conduct a broad investigation into the Trump family's investments, including their business ties to both prediction market companies. The family has drawn conflict-of-interest criticism for pursuing a mix of family corporate ventures and personal investments that closely track the president's official decisions.

Trump Jr. had served as a paid strategic adviser to Kalshi since January last year, when President Trump took office, and began investing in Polymarket in August. Both companies expanded significantly during Trump's second term, winning approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to trade sports-related contracts — the most lucrative segment of the prediction market industry. While both companies have denied that their rapid growth is connected to the Trump family, the Democratic Party has said it intends to examine whether preferential treatment was granted during the licensing process.