A top aide to President Donald Trump may have close family ties to a hemp industry executive, but that has nothing to do with the White House’s push to get Congress to delay the planned federal recriminalization of hemp THC products this week, an administration official says.
Meanwhile, several sources told Marijuana Moment that the president himself called a GOP senator this week to try to get him to back off a push to keep the scheduled ban on track for November.
In June, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’s daughter Caroline married Bret Worley, who runs MC Nutraceuticals and other hemp companies. That has led to some accusations that the administration’s advocacy on the hemp issue is intended to benefit those close to the administration.
But Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told The New York Times for a story published on Wednesday that Worley’s hemp business interests have no connection to the president’s position on the issue. The administration’s advocacy is in “the best interest of the American people” and is aimed at helping veterans and other people who use hemp products for medical purposes.
Desai added that when Wiles met with lawmakers last week to advocate for passage of a continuing resolution to keep the government funding—which includes a provision to delay the scheduled hemp ban—she did not specifically mention the issue and “has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill,” according to the Times report.
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, the president signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12.
On Sunday, leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of a continuing resolution to extend funding for federal agencies through December 11, past the end of the current fiscal year on September 30.
Included in the legislation are provisions that will also delay the planned prohibition on most hemp products until December 11—although there is a carve-out that will allow the immediately recriminalization on November 12 of synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant.”
“The White House supports the provision in the temporary government funding bill, which is a modest four-week delay in implementation to allow for productive conversations to continue, that also allows the current limits to go into effect for some synthetic products permanently,” a White House official told Marijuana Moment in an email.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) and several GOP cosponsors have filed an amendment that seeks to strip the provisions from the legislation, however, prompting pushback from the White House.
“The Trump administration opposes delaying government funding as well as important conversations over the pathway forward for the SAVE America Act,” the White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment, referring to separate legislation to mandate proof of citizenship and photo ID requirements to vote in federal elections that is also up for consideration in the Senate and that may be held up if Budd and other GOP senators insist on demanding a vote on the hemp amendment in order to allow expedited consideration of the funding legislation.
Three sources with knowledge of discussions around the issue told Marijuana Moment that Trump personally called Budd in an attempt to get him to back off the push to keep the hemp ban on track for November, but a spokesperson for the senator later clarified that there was “not an explicit ask made to Sen. Budd to drop the amendment” by the president.
The spokesperson said that the hemp issue “certainly came up” during what he described as a “very friendly” discussion between Budd and Trump that also touched on number of other topics.
The White House spokesperson, meanwhile, did not directly address Marijuana Moment’s request for comment on Trump’s direct outreach to lawmakers on the hemp issue this week.
Budd, for his part, told The Times that he has “made it clear to the White House and my colleagues in the Senate that any action to delay” the ban “will endanger both the wellness and safety of Americans.”
Punchbowl News and NBC News both reported that White House Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid spoke about the issue during a “tense” lunch with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, committing that there would be no further extensions of the hemp ban’s effective date if the current proposal is enacted.
Desai, the White House spokesperson, told NBC that “President Trump has made his position on hemp and cannabis abundantly clear, most recently in a December executive order and April TRUTH Social post.”
“This position builds on the President’s 2018 Farm Bill, which authorized the production of hemp, and his support for Florida Amendment 3 in 2024,” he said. “The only interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people, and the Administration continues to explore a Gold Science Standard-based framework on hemp to expand treatment options for American veterans and patients.”
On Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of 35 state and territory attorneys general sent a letter calling on Congress not to reverse the hemp THC product ban, saying that lawmakers’ move to enact the forthcoming prohibition “protected consumers, provided much-needed regulatory clarity, and preserved legitimate industrial, agricultural, and nonintoxicating hemp markets.”
In June, the House of Representatives passed its own version of a continuing resolution to keep federal agencies funded into December, but it did not have any provisions to alter the planned hemp product ban. As such, if the Senate passes its new provision it would then still need approval by the other chamber before being sent to the president.
Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers from both chambers and both parties have filed or are circulating a growing number of bills to prevent the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC drinks and other products later this year. Until now, none of those proposals have gained traction with congressional leaders.
For example, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is circulating legislation that would delay a planned federal ban on hemp THC products and institute some regulations—including packaging requirements, testing rules and age limits.
Separately, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), filed a lengthier proposal to prevent the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products and put in place a number of regulations for manufacturing, labeling, sales and taxation of hemp-derived products, including an age limit of 21.
A press release from the congressman’s office claimed that the White House supports the legislation, which is cosponsored by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), but the administration has not specifically endorsed it despite generally calling for hemp regulations and backing a prior similar amendment filed by Barr.
Trump and White House officials have in recent weeks repeatedly pressed Congress to delay, alter or reverse the ban.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in June, for example, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said the Trump administration wants lawmakers to “ensure the fair treatment of hemp products”—specifically citing Barr’s earlier amendment to keep many hemp products legal while adding regulations and taxes.
The administration “welcomes the opportunity to work with the Congress to, at a minimum, update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products,” OMB separately said in June, “while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
Also in April, the president himself urged congressional lawmakers to again redefine hemp to avoid recriminalization of full-spectrum CBD products.
“I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.”
Industry advocates say that the law as enacted last year not only threatens to prohibit intoxicating and synthetic cannabinoid products but also stands to remove popular full-spectrum CBD products that many Americans use therapeutically from the market.
“ONE in FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it improved their chronic pain enormously,” the president said in his social media post, adding that hemp-derived CBD “has made a HUGE difference for so many people.”
He also referenced a new initiative the administration launched in April to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows products to have up to 3 milligrams of total THC per serving. A federal judge granted the government’s motion to dismiss marijuana legalization opponents’ lawsuit challenging the initiative, but that is being appealed.
“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation for Hemp-derived CBD,” Trump said. “Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved fast to follow the directive in the Executive Order, and launched a model for some Seniors earlier this month. But more must be done!”
“Please get it done, and SOON,” the president said in reference to a congressional fix for the broad recriminalization set to take effect in November. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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