At Hearing, Warren Questions Hegseth on Insider Trading During Iran War As He Ducks Responsibility
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Senator Elizabeth Warren's BlueSky (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Twitter (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Youtube (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Instagram (This link opens in new window or tab.) Home Newsroom Press Releases April 30, 2026 At Hearing, Warren Questions Hegseth on Insider Trading During Iran War As He Ducks Responsibility Warren: “It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war.” Hegseth: Everything “completely above board” Video of Exchange (YouTube) Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth on allegations that Trump administration officials are engaging in possible insider trading by placing bets on the Iran War through prediction markets. Senator Warren also questioned Hegseth on reports of his own personal investments, revealing a possible violation of Hegseth’s ethics agreement. “Americans are paying a high price for Donald Trump’s war with Iran: 14 service members dead, over 400 more wounded, prices rising for nearly every American family,” said Senator Warren . “But someone is profiting off Trump’s war—insiders who know what’s going on and who place bets on that inside information.” On March 23, minutes before Trump unexpectedly posted about “very good conversations” on ending his war with Iran, traders suddenly bet $500 million on the price of oil, which, once Trump made his announcement, immediately dropped. A similar occurrence happened again on April 7 and again on April 21. Federal law prohibits financial trades based on material, nonpublic information. “It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war,” said Senator Warren . When pressed on concerns about insider trading in his own office, Secretary Hegseth said it’s “not something we're involved in at all” and refused to share any information as to how — or whether — DoD is cracking down on possible insider trading. On March 30, the Financial Times reported that Secretary Hegseth’s broker attempted to purchase millions of shares in a defense industry fund prior to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran. It is illegal for any Secretary of Defense to own stock in the ten biggest defense contracting companies. Following this report, Senator Warren, along with her colleagues, pressed Secretary Hegseth on what appeared to be a major conflict of interest and possible violation of his federal ethics agreement. The senator also sent a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), raising her concerns about whether the Secretary may have used highly sensitive, material nonpublic information on U.S. military activities for personal gain. Secretary Hegseth claimed the entire story was “false” and denied his involvement. In his ethics agreement , Secretary Hegs
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