At Hearing, Warren Questions Hegseth on Insider Trading During Iran War As He Ducks Responsibility

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 Hegseth said he would "ensure" that "the account manager or investment professional obtains my prior approval on a case-by-case basis for the purchase of any assets other than cash, cash equivalents, investment funds." In response to Senator Warren asking if his broker is getting his sign-off on his investments, Secretary Hegseth said, "bigger, fatter, negative."

Senator Warren concluded the hearing by entering Secretary Hegseth's ethics agreement, which states he will personally sign off on any defense-related investments, into the congressional record.

Transcript: Hearings to examine the Department of Defense budget request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program.
Senate Armed Services Committee
April 30, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: 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.

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 23rd, just 14 minutes before Trump unexpectedly posted about "very good conversations" on ending the war, traders suddenly bet $500 million on the price of oil, which, once Trump made his announcement, immediately dropped. It happened again on April 7th. Then again, on April 21st. A surge in oil bets, then a Trump post, and then a huge shift in oil prices in just the space of minutes. It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war.

One U.S. soldier has been charged, but that was for betting on the Maduro capture months ago. Not a single person has been charged for the many, many trades over the war in the Middle East.

Secretary Hegseth, do you have any explanation for these perfectly timed spikes in trading activity other than insider trading?

Secretary Pete Hegseth: Senator, all I can tell you is that everything we've done in our department, everything we've done with information in working with the White House and across the interagency, has been completely above board.

Senator Warren: Well, so what does it mean? Do you have any other explanation other than insider trading? Do you have a story for why, just minutes before there's an announcement, there's a surge in trading activity?

Secretary Hegseth: Senator, I'm more than focused on doing my job and ensuring we execute properly, which, thankfully, under this administration, our troops have done incredible things in all these missions. My job, in all of those moments, is to make sure we're prepared. And that's part of the reason why we've been so successful in these raids, in these efforts, is that this joint force is prepared.

Senator Warren: You're saying you're not paying any attention to this insider trading. Is that what you're telling me? That you've paid no attention to this. You haven't noticed it. You haven't done anything about it.

Secretary Hegseth: What I'm saying is we're focused on our mission of executing for the American people. And what happens in markets is not, in betting markets, is not something we're involved in.

Senator Warren: What happens in betting markets doesn't matter to you, even if the information may be coming from insiders in your office?

Secretary Hegseth: Senator, it's not something we're involved in at all. And of course, we take operational security at every level very seriously. In fact, no one's taken operational security more seriously than us. If you look at what it required to keep secret Midnight Hammer and Operation Maduro, the absolute resolve with Maduro and the steps we've taken, no one's been tighter about ensuring that operational security is ensured.

Senator Warren: Have you taken any steps to deal with insider trading out of your office?

Secretary Hegseth: I mean, we have, we would ensure at every level that inside information-

Senator Warren: Okay. I take that as a no.

Secretary Hegseth: …is properly safeguarded.

Senator Warren: Well, obviously, you're not. I'm also concerned about recent reporting on your own financial dealings with regard to profiting from the war in Iran. The Financial Times reported that your broker tried to buy hundreds of shares in a BlackRock fund invested in defense companies just before the war began. The law clearly prohibits the Secretary-

Secretary Hegseth: That entire story is false. It has been from the beginning and was made up out of whole cloth. And anybody that looks at it sees how it was worded from the beginning, to make it look like I was involved in something I had nothing to do and never have. So any insinuation that I've ever profited other than serving this nation. What I give, what you give, what others give. I'm not looking for money. I don't do it for money. I don't do it for profit. I don't do it for stocks, and that's part of the reason why I'm able to be effective in this job, because no one owns me, no one owns this department, no one owns this president, and we can execute for the American people, and we do.

Senator Warren: The law clearly prohibits the Secretary of Defense from owning stock in the ten biggest defense contractors. Other senators and I sent you a letter with detailed questions about this, and you have not given us a response. So I'd like to hear what you say.

Did you, through your broker at Morgan Stanley or otherwise, seek to invest in any defense-related funds right before Trump started the Iran war?

Secretary Hegseth: I'll give it to you as a big fat negative.

Senator Warren: Then let me ask you a second question. Is your broker getting your personal sign-off on any investment in an individual stock or-

Secretary Hegseth: Bigger, fatter, negative.

Senator Warren: He's not getting your sign-off before he makes investments in defense stocks? Can I refer you to your ethics agreements?

Secretary Hegseth: I'm not making investments, Senator.

Senator Warren: I'm asking, does he know that he has to get your sign-off before he does that?

Secretary Hegseth: Of course. I don't know what you're looking for, but you ain't gonna find it.

Chair Roger Wicker: Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

Senator Warren: I would like to enter into the record the ethics agreement that the Secretary of Defense has signed, that he will sign off personally before his broker makes any attempt to buy defense stocks.

Chair Roger Wicker: Is there objection? Thank you. Without objection, it will be admitted.

Senator Warren has fought to hold the Trump administration accountable for failing to protect civilians and troops alike during its illegal war in Iran:

• On April 28, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump's illegal war with Iran.
• On April 22, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pressed General Randall Reed, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), on the Trump administration's failures in evacuating Americans from the Middle East at the start of President Trump's illegal war in Iran.
• On April 20, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a report that a broker for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attempted to purchase millions of shares in a defense industry fund prior to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran. The Senator raises serious concerns about whether the Secretary of Defense may have used highly sensitive, material non-public information on U.S military activities for personal gain.
• On April 20, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Van Hollen (D-Md.) led nine senators in opening a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump's war in Iran.
• On April 7, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released a new video condemning President Trump's threat to wipe out the "whole civilization" of Iran and called for Majority Leader Thune to bring the Senate back into session immediately to vote to stop Trump's war.
• On April 2, 2026, after new reports revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's broker reportedly attempted to make major defense investments ahead of Trump's attacks on Iran, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Hegseth on what appears to be a major conflict of interest and possible violation of his federal ethics agreement.

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