Republican lawmakers complain about White House’s hemp push
Republican lawmakers complain about White House’s hemp push
Julie TsirkinWed, August 5, 2026 at 6:29 PM UTC
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Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement on a stopgap government funding bill that included a provision pushing back the hemp ban to Dec. 11 (Edwin Remsberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images file)
WASHINGTON — The White House has been actively engaged in pushing to delay an impending ban on intoxicating hemp, four people with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
The delay concerns a provision that President Donald Trump signed into law last year that would ban most low-THC hemp-derived products sold around the country beginning on Nov. 12.
The measure closed a loophole that allowed unregulated products to flourish nationwide. The products include items like Delta-8 that are sold at places like gas stations, as well as mild full-spectrum CBD tinctures used for sleep and inflammation.
Since at least July, White House Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid began calling lawmakers on the issue, according to three people directly familiar with the calls who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The White House’s request for a delay worked; over the weekend, Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement on a stopgap government funding bill that included a provision pushing back the hemp ban to Dec. 11. The Senate hopes to pass the legislation this week before it leaves for its August recess.
A delay in the ban would benefit the family member of a top White House official: chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Wiles’ son-in-law, Bret Worley, who recently married Wiles’ youngest daughter, Caroline, is the president and CEO of MC Nutraceuticals, which describes itself as the “largest global supplier of cannabinoids” and says it is trying to “revolutionize the hemp wellness industry.”
“It kind of hangs over all of this,” said a Trump ally who has spoken to members of Congress about the issue, referring to Wiles’ family connection.
The lobbying from the White House on what’s seen as a relatively minor issue has raised questions from some lawmakers.
Republican senators complained about the White House push to their leadership, including Thune, recently, a Republican source who has direct knowledge of the conversations told NBC News. A House Republican leadership aide said there have been similar complaints in their chamber, including to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Wiles “has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill.”
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NBC News reached out to Worley, Johnson and Thune’s offices. None of them returned a request for comment for this article.
Braid was also a guest at Senate Republicans’ regular lunch meeting on Wednesday. Two people familiar with the meeting — one who attended and one who was briefed on it — said it became “tense” when the issue of the hemp extension came up.
Braid, according to these sources, committed to not delaying the ban any further after this three-week extension. Braid did not return a request for comment.
The 2018 farm bill, championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., legalized hemp. But at the time, McConnell and other proponents of the bill did not take into account intoxicating cannabinoids derived from hemp like Delta-8, THC-O and HHC. Critics have argued that the unregulated products, sold in many cases at convenience stores and potentially accessible by minors, should be banned.
While an extension would be welcome news for some lawmakers with thriving hemp industries in their states — who have pushed for legislative solutions to help businesses from going under —others are frustrated that the White House is delaying on an issue it once described as a public health and safety matter.
The White House’s National Drug Control Strategy released in May said psychoactive derivatives of hemp products are “often sold in smoke shops and gas stations, are not regulated, and can contain dangerous chemicals or psychoactive substances.” The document further said that they have “not been evaluated for safety in animals or humans, and have been linked to cases of psychosis and suicide attempts.”
“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,” Desaid added in a statement. “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.”
A group of 34 attorneys general wrote to Republican leaders in the House and Senate on Tuesday, opposing a delay in the ban.
“If the loophole is reopened, or the new definition is weakened or repealed,” they wrote, “States will face renewed litigation, inconsistent enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, increased youth access to intoxicating products, and disruption of lawful businesses that have already adjusted their operations to comply with the new federal framework.”
The Trump ally said he has heard from members of Congress who are utterly confused about the hemp push.
“I have talked to members who have, without question, expressed what could be best said is confusion,” the Trump ally said. “They are not sure what’s going on, and where the reversal is coming from.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
