The White House is pressing Congress to take action to prevent the broad federal recriminalization of hemp products that’s set to take effect later this year.
The push comes as part of a request to lawmakers for supplemental funding to address costs associated with the administration’s attacks on Iran and “other critical needs” such as responding to an Ebola outbreak in Africa.
“Furthermore, the Administration requests additional authorities that it strongly supports,” White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday.
“These authorities include revising the Federal regulation of hemp to ensure the fair treatment of hemp products in a manner consistent with Amendment #54 offered to H.R. 8646 in the House Rules Committee, or, at minimum, an extension of implementation of the regulatory framework put in place by Section 781 of Public Law 119-37,” he said.
The amendment Vought referenced was filed by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) that would have kept many hemp products legal that are currently set to be recriminalized this year, add labeling requirements and institute new taxes on sales, among other regulatory reforms. It was blocked from receiving a House floor vote by the Rules Committee, however.
Barr is also preparing to file standalone legislation on the issue and has said it faces opposition from a coalition of strange bedfellows including sectors of the alcohol industry, marijuana businesses and cannabis legalization opponents.
An attachment to the letter that the White House letter sent to Congress this week notes that the hemp-related request “would update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
The administration used similar hemp language earlier this month in a statement of administration policy on the agriculture funding bill that Barr’s earlier amendment was blocked from being attached to.
Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Marijuana Moment that the group is “excited to see the president take such a strong public stance in favor of replacing the hemp ban with a strong regulatory framework, or at a minimum, securing an extension of the hemp ban moratorium to give Congress more time to develop regulations.”
“This is an important step to honoring Congress’s promise to help farmers and consumers,” he said.
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, he 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.
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 on the same day his administration announced it is moving forward with rescheduling marijuana.
“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.
“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!”
It’s not clear how far Trump wants to scale back the scope of the scheduled federal restrictions on hemp products and what kinds of revised THC rules and limitations he would prefer to sign into law.
Separately, White House officials recently provided a congressman’s office with feedback on hemp regulatory legislation.
In April, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr.
“We appreciate your work to advance the policy of” an executive order Trump signed in December that included provisions seeking to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staffers wrote in a letter to the congressman.
“We are transmitting for your consideration draft legislative text and comments to address the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products in order to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” the White House officials said, according to a social media post containing a screenshot of the letter. “We are available for discussion and further technical assistance.”
Separately, anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit suit against the Medicare hemp CBD coverage policy—but a judge dismissed the case last month, ruling that they don’t have standing. Lawyers for Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz had filed a brief asking that the case be dismissed.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has also held a series of meetings about a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD products enforcement policy.
FDA issued guidance making clear that it does not intend to interfere with implementation of the Medicare hemp-derived products coverage plan.
CMS separately finalized a rule that will allow coverage of some hemp products as specialized, non-primarily health-related benefits through Medicare Advantage plans.
As hemp products have become more popular with consumers, some large brands are attempting to get in on action.
Major retailer Target, for example, is expanding its participation in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program involving sales of cannabis drinks at 10 select stores in Minnesota. That apparently went well, and now the company has obtained licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency hemp edible products—including THC drinks—at all 72 of its stores in the state.
The National Restaurant Association, which represents the industry, recently sent a letter urging congressional leaders to delay the federal recriminalization of hemp THC beverages that is scheduled to take effect later this year and replace it with a regulatory framework that “ensures consumer safety while meeting growing market demand” for the products as an alternative to alcohol.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report published in April shows that farmers in the U.S. grew three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year.
Read the White House letter to Congress below:
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