Former DOGE staffers Secure Senior Roles at Leading Prediction Market Firms

Polymarket, currently under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, added Jonathan Mendelson as a senior strategic executive; Mendelson previously served as an advisor to SEC chairman Paul Atkins while technically employed by the General Services Administration and had stints at Accel and Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative. The firm declined comment on the appointment, and the SEC did not respond to inquiries.

Meanwhile, Elie Mishory, who helped craft the CFTC’s framework for prediction markets, was Kalshi’s general counsel and chief regulatory officer in 2025 before moving to lead DOGE-related efforts at the SEC alongside Mendelson. This June he accepted the role of chief regulatory and legal affairs officer at Novig, a well-funded sports-focused prediction market. Both executives highlight a trend of former government insiders transitioning to the rapidly expanding prediction-market sector, which is confronting increasing calls for stricter oversight from state regulators and federal lawmakers.