Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., on Wednesday called for a federal probe into suspicious trading activity in oil and equity futures markets just before President Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day delay in attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure in March.

In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig, first reported by CNBC, Torres cites reports on a series of irregular and well-timed trades in the minutes ahead of Trump calling a pause on hostilities.

“What kind of trader would make a massive trade at 6:49 a.m., 15 minutes before a market-moving presidential announcement with billions of dollars at stake and without a hedge?” Torres said in an interview on Wednesday. “The only plausible answer to that question is an insider trader. Any other alternative is a statistical impossibility.”

More than $500 million in crude oil futures trades were made in the roughly 15 minutes before Trump announced the halt in strikes via Truth Social, Reuters reported last month. The New Yorker reported that in the immediate lead-up to Trump’s announcement, there was an abnormal surge in futures trading volume predicting a decline in oil prices and a rebound in equity markets.

Torres in his letter said the “occurrence may constitute one of the largest instances of insider trading in history,” and called on the SEC to open a formal investigation and, in consultation with the CFTC, obtain comprehensive trading records.

A spokesperson for the SEC on Wednesday declined to comment. The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The SEC tapped David Woodcock, a Gibson Dunn lawyer and former agency official, to be its next enforcement director, Reuters reported Wednesday.

“I have a lack of confidence in our market regulators,” Torres said in the interview. “But we have no choice but to agitate for accountability. We cannot allow the SEC and the CFTC to turn a blind eye to what may be the largest case of insider trading in history.”

This is the second time in several months that Torres — a member of the House Financial Services Committee — has raised the issue of potential insider trading around Trump administration actions.

Torres introduced legislation in January after an account on the prediction market platform Polymarket placed a well-time bet in the hours leading up to the ouster Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, earning a $400,000 payout.

The legislation would bar federal elected officials, congressional staff, political appointees and executive branch officials from buying or selling event contracts based on government policy, action or political outcomes if they have material nonpublic information. It has 42 Democratic cosponsors but is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled House.

Congressional Democrats in recent months have repeatedly raised concerns about the appearance of insider trading within the Trump administration, particularly on prediction markets. A group of House Democrats on Monday sent a letter to Selig questioning the CFTC’s role in regulating event bets placed on offshore prediction markets like Polymarket.

“Recent high-profile instances of alleged insider trading on prediction market platforms relating to U.S. government actions — including the military’s intervention in Venezuela and our recent attack on Iran —have fueled concern that the CFTC does not have adequate control over these fast-growing markets,” wrote the group, led by Reps. Seth Moulton and Jim McGovern, Massachusetts Democrats.

A group of congressional Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation that would ban prediction market bets on elections, government actions, war and sports, as scrutiny on the popular platforms intensifies.

Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., are leading the measure, which comes after a series of well-timed bets placed on world events — including the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the war in Iran — raised questions about prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

“When anyone can use prediction markets to make a well-timed bet on Congress passing a bill, government decisions, or a military strike, it’s ripe for corruption and erodes public trust,” Merkley said in a statement. “The STOP Corrupt Bets Act restores the original intent of prediction markets and prevents these markets from further eroding our democratic institutions and turning them into a casino.”

The bill, which would impose broader limitations on the markets than most other legislative measures, is the latest in a flurry of proposals to rein-in prediction markets, which have exploded in popularity of late and allow users to place bets on a variety of events.

Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and John Curtis, R-Utah, have teamed up on a measure to ban sports prediction market contracts, which they argue is tantamount to gambling and goes virtually unregulated.

Kalshi criticized Schiff and Curtis’ proposal in a statement to CNBC on Wednesday, saying, “It’s clear this bill is motivated by casino interests that are threatened by competition. They’re more worried about protecting their monopolies than protecting consumers.”

A bipartisan House group on Wednesday introduced legislation barring members of Congress, the president and other executive branch officials from trading in certain prediction markets. Merkley earlier this month, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced his own proposal that would similarly block elected officials from getting rich off prediction markets.

As lawmakers turn up the heat, Kalshi and Polymarket both announced new insider trading protections on their platforms this week. Kalshi says it does not allow markets related to war or death.

Spokespeople for both prediction markets did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.

In addition to an outright prohibition on specific prediction market activity, Merkley, Warren and Raskin’s latest proposal would clarify that these markets are against the intent of federal law that regulates contract trading and would return the power of regulating gambling to the states, according to Merkley.

At least 20 lawsuits have been filed by states and gaming regulators arguing that prediction markets offer a gambling loophole and should be state-regulated.

The new bill would also require that the Government Accountability Office — Congress’ non-partisan, independent watchdog — conduct a study on prediction markets and insider trading.

Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes a CNBC minority investment.

President Donald Trump said he’s considering sending the National Guard to U.S. airports, two days after the administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to several major U.S. airports following hourslong waits for travelers because of the partial government shutdown.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown, which began Feb. 14.

“Thank you to our great ICE Patriots for helping. It makes a big difference,” he wrote in his post. “I may call up the National Guard for more help.”

More than 11% of TSA officers called out on Wednesday and more than 450 have quit since the shutdown started, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Elevated absences of Transportation Security Administration officers, who are required to work though they’re not getting paid during the shutdown, have contributed to long lines at major U.S. airports, including in Atlanta, Houston and New York.

DHS, which oversees both ICE and and TSA, said the ICE agents will “support airports facing the greatest strain” but the department didn’t respond to requests for comment on what the ICE agents’ duties are. ICE agents are getting paid in the shutdown.

Airlines have been warning customers about potentially long security lines, while executives grow increasingly frustrated with lawmakers about the impasse. On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines said it suspended its airport escorts and other special services for members of Congress and their staff because of the ongoing partial shutdown of the DHS.

The shutdown comes as Democrats in Congress have demanded changes to how federal immigration enforcement operates in exchange for releasing DHS funding after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, said he would require judicial warrants for federal immigration agents to enter private homes or businesses, signaling a potential policy shift from his predecessor Kristi Noem.

“We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house,” Mullin, R-Okla., said at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday when asked about an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo that allowed for warrantless arrest and entry.

He also told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he doesn’t plan to send DHS law enforcement to polling places, following President Donald Trump’s call last month to “nationalize” elections.

“The only reason why my officers would be there is if there was a specific threat for them to be there, not for intimidation,” Mullin said.

Mullin’s appearance Wednesday was the first of two this week before the panel chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Trump tapped Mullin, a close congressional ally of the president, to lead DHS earlier this month after firing Noem, who was mired in controversy.

The hearing got off to a tense start when Paul called Mullin out on comments he had made about Paul. In February, it was reported that Mullin called the Kentucky Republican a “freaking snake” and suggested he understands why a neighbor of Paul’s attacked him in 2017.

“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul said.

“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it,” Paul continued. “And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”

Mullin, in response, did not strike a conciliatory tone.

“We just don’t get along. However, sir, that doesn’t keep me at all from doing my job,” Mullin told Paul. “I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of Homeland, I’ll be protecting everybody.”

“The record should show, and I think will show, a lack of contrition, no apology, and no regrets for your support, you completely understand the violence that was perpetrated on me,” Paul said.

Republicans have an 8-7 edge on the committee and Mullin needs a simple majority to advance to the full Senate. Paul told reporters after the hearing that he would not vote for Mullin, according to MS Now. A “no” from Paul complicates his candidacy, though Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has said he would vote in support of Mullin. The committee is slated to vote on Mullin’s nomination on Thursday.

Mullin is a hard-liner who has endorsed the Trump administration’s immigration policies. He is seeking to lead an agency currently shut down amid Democratic concerns about its immigration enforcement policies. Senate Democrats and the White House are continuing to negotiate a funding agreement for DHS.

A former MMA fighter, rancher and owner of his own plumbing business, Mullin came to the House in 2013 riding an anti-establishment wave. He became a senator in 2023 and has become known on the Hill for building strong relationships with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

On Wednesday he was flanked by former Republican and Democratic House colleagues, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the moderate New Jersey Democrat.

Seated directly behind Mullin was Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, the union leader with whom Mullin nearly got into a physical altercation during a Senate hearing in 2023. The pair have since become friends, according to Mullin.

“He is somebody who has the rare gift of bringing people together on both sides of the aisle,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

But those strong, bipartisan relationships did not spare Mullin from tough questions from the panel’s Democrats, who have been sharply critical of Trump’s mass deportation policies and liberal deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agents.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the committee, questioned Mullin about his response to the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. Before an investigation played out, Mullin called Pretti, a federal employee ICU nurse, a “deranged individual,” echoing claims made by Noem in the immediate aftermath of the killing.

“Could we expect those kinds of quick responses if you are confirmed as secretary? Peters asked.

“Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn’t have said that, and as secretary I wouldn’t. The investigation is ongoing,” Mullins said. “There’s sometimes I’m going to make a mistake and I own it. That one, I went out there too fast.”

Peters also grilled Mullin, who has never served in the military, about recent comments he made after the start of the war in Iran.

“War is ugly. It smells bad. And if anybody has ever been there and been able to smell the war that’s happening around you and taste it, and feel it in your nostrils, and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget. And it’s ugly,” Mullin told Fox News.

In response to Peters’ questions about his firsthand experience overseas, Mullin referred to “classified” official trips while he was a member of the House.

“In 2015, I was asked to train with a very small contingency and go to a certain area,” Mullin said. “During that time, I was asked to go through, had to meet certain training qualifications,” Mullin said.

“Where did you smell war, sir?” Peters continued.

Mullin said he’s “never spoken specifically” about the details of the trip. Paul and Peters requested a classified briefing following the hearing to get more information about the stint overseas.

Some Democratic critics of DHS have said since Mullin was tapped that a change in leadership would do little to alter policy as long as Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and homeland security advisor, holds sway. And Mullin did not diverge greatly from the administration when questioned about specific points of immigration policy.

Asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., about ICE arrests quotas, Mullin said: “No quota has been set for me sir. … The president of the United States sets the policies and I’ll be working with the president.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., lashed out at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, calling her leadership of the agency a “disaster.”

“We’re an exceptional nation. And one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you have demonstrated anything but that,” said Tillis, who has previously called on Noem to resign. He struck out at Noem for her handling of disaster response and the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, among other things.

“What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turned out are American citizens,” Tillis said in a roughly 10-minute diatribe that included references to passages from her autobiography in which she describes killing a poorly behaved dog.

Noem was making her first appearance before Congress since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents during the Minnesota immigration crackdown. It is the first of two this week, as she is due to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

She was met with hostility from Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, and Democrats on the panel and skepticism even from some other committee Republicans.

“Mistakes have been made,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in his opening remarks. “Let’s make it clear. One death is too many. But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws,”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., questioned Noem on a $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign, that included a lucrative contract with a Republican consulting firm with ties to Noem and Department of Homeland Security aides. Those commercials feature Noem prominently, in one case on horseback with Mount Rushmore in the background, and warn immigrants about entering the country unlawfully. She denied any role in choosing the firm and said the ads have been “extremely effective.”

“Well they were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy said. “It troubles me. A fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money when we’re scratching over every penny and we’re fighting over rescission packages. I just can’t agree with.”

Noem’s appearance also coincided with an ongoing DHS shutdown. Funding for DHS lapsed last month, and Democrats have so far refused to back an appropriations bill over frustrations with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. DHS still has billions of dollars at its disposal to keep some programs running thanks to last year’s massive tax and spending bill.

Some Republicans argued that in light of the recent military action in Iran, failing to fund DHS presented a security risk.

“Can we not understand America’s under siege now, likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege and they’re going to hit back, and we’re sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS?” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Democrats in Congress have been sharply critical of Noem’s leadership of DHS. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced articles of impeachment for Noem in January after federal officers killed Good and Pretti.

“Under your leadership, the Homeland Security Department has been devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law,” Senate Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said at the hearing. “Without hesitation or remorse, DHS agents have wreaked havoc in our cities … and acted with unspeakable cruelty against children, immigrant families and American citizens.”

Friends and family members of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention were present at the hearing. They held signs and shouted in Noem’s direction as she took her seat in a Senate committee room.

Two protesters interrupted testimony and were forcibly removed from the room.

Durbin and others members also took issue with Noem’s handling of the Pretti shooting in Minnesota. In the immediate aftermath, Noem said Pretti, a Minneapolis intensive care unit nurse, “committed an act of domestic terrorism,” then walked the claim back after video of the incident emerged.

“Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?” Durbin asked.

“When we have these situations happen, we always offer condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well. These are tragic situations,” Noem said.

Given the broad use of ICE and DHS agents throughout the country, many Democrats have expressed anxiety that federal officers could be deployed to polling places for midterm elections this November, as some White House allies, like Steve Bannon, have urged.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked Noem whether she would “rule out the deployment of ICE or CBP to polling places this November?”

“There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations,” Noem said. She did not explicitly rule it out.