Kalshi-Backed Lobby Group Hires Trump Ally Taylor Budowich as Strategic Adviser

A new lobbying group backed by U.S. prediction-market platform Kalshi has hired a close ally of President Donald Trump as a strategic adviser.

Cointelegraph reported on May 24 that Americans for Fair Markets, a prediction-market advocacy group, appointed former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich to the role.

Budowich is considered a key figure in Trump's orbit. The appointment is being viewed as a sign the prediction-market industry is seeking to expand its influence in U.S. politics and regulatory debates.

The group was launched with Kalshi's backing and plans to pursue policy efforts against sports-betting operators and the casino industry. Kalshi argues incumbent operators are spreading negative perceptions of prediction markets to protect their existing dominance.

The launch comes amid a broader lobbying push by the prediction-market industry. In December 2025, the Coalition for Prediction Markets was formed with participation from Coinbase, Crypto.com and Robinhood.

Views in Washington and among regulators remain divided. The U.S. House of Representatives recently opened an inquiry into Kalshi and Polymarket over their handling of insider-trading issues.

Kalshi said the new group would support the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority over prediction-market regulation. A jurisdictional dispute between federal regulators and state governments over oversight of prediction markets is continuing in the U.S.