A sudden White House push to delay a ban on hemp products is raising questions on Capitol Hill about whether President Donald Trump’s administration is acting in the interest of one of its most powerful aides.

As lawmakers work to finalize a stopgap government funding bill before leaving for their August recess, a number of Republicans and Democrats are asking themselves why the White House has reversed course on hemp-derived intoxicating products — first pushing for a ban and now pressing Congress to postpone it.

Increasingly, lawmakers and aides are discussing who stands to benefit from the delay. And one name keeps coming up in those conversations: White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Wiles’ new son-in-law, Bret Worley, is the CEO of MC Nutraceuticals, a major manufacturer and distributor of hemp-derived products. And his company has urged industry allies to pressure lawmakers to delay the upcoming ban on hemp-derived THC products.

In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Wiles has not been involved in the issue.

“The Chief of Staff has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill,” Desai said.

Despite signing the measure into law to ban THC products last November, Desai pointed out that Trump had also taken some supportive stances toward hemp. Specifically, Desai mentioned a December executive order aimed at allowing access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing CBD, as well as an April post on Truth Social encouraging Congress to support access to CBD products.

“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,” Desai said.

Neither Wiles nor Worley responded to a request for comment.

The hemp dispute has become an unexpected sticking point in negotiations over a stopgap government funding bill, with the White House urging lawmakers to postpone enforcement of the ban.

The bipartisan spending measure, which is expected to come up for a vote this week, would delay the implementation of the ban on hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 — with the possibility that lawmakers address the policy in another funding bill.

But the whole ordeal has left some Republicans struggling to understand why the administration is trying to postpone the implementation of a law that Trump signed less than a year ago.

Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., who is rallying support for an amendment to strip the provision and allow the ban to take effect on schedule, said he can’t explain the White House’s position.

“I tried to track down the origins, but I think this is absolutely ridiculous,” Budd told MS NOW. “We fixed this thing last year. We fixed it last November. They’ve had nine months to work on this, so why, all of a sudden, pop up for some seemingly innocent delay?”

While Budd and others said the administration’s shift was a mystery, lawmakers are well aware of Worley’s role in the industry. As the government funding bill was getting drafted, Worley’s company sent industry allies an email urging supporters to call senators and back a delay in the ban. 

The appeal, reviewed by MS NOW, said “hemp’s survival” depends on the funding provision, though Worley’s name doesn’t specifically appear on the email.

Democratic lawmakers have heard from cannabis industry representatives, who want to keep the hemp restrictions in place, and are raising questions about Wiles’ family connection to a member of the industry, according to a Senate Democratic aide familiar with the discussions.

On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that after lawmakers included the pro-hemp provision in the stopgap funding measure, MC Nutraceuticals bragged in an email to prospective customers that the industry has “a seat at the table” and would seek a permanent fix in another must-pass bill later this year.

The current debate stems from actions during Trump’s first term, when the president signed into law the 2018 farm bill legalizing hemp cultivation by removing federal restrictions on hemp containing less than 0.3% THC.

But last year, lawmakers cracked down on intoxicating hemp products, setting a limit on THC content and recriminalizing certain hemp-derived products, including delta-8 THC. Those restrictions are scheduled to take effect Nov. 12.

Critics of the hemp products like Budd have said the candy-like gummy products seem to be marketed to children. Alcohol producers and marijuana companies have also argued that the hemp products aren’t sufficiently regulated, though more libertarian conservatives argue that’s for anticompetitive reasons.

The policy dispute is exposing a dramatic divide among GOP lawmakers. And on Wednesday, that divide turned into a standoff between some Republican senators and White House legislative director James Braid. 

As Braid met with GOP senators during a private lunch on Capitol Hill, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., confronted the Trump aide about the White House’s position, referring to hemp products as “gas station marijuana candy,” according to a Senate Republican.

Braid promised the White House wouldn’t seek any further delays of the ban, the Senate Republican said.

But the confrontation made an impression on several senators.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., described the lunch meeting as a “big blow up.” 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told PBS Newshour the conversation had GOP “busy bodies” fired up.

“It’s like they watched ‘Reefer Madness’ in 1937, and they believe the whole world’s gonna be hooked on marijuana,” Paul said.

Paul told MS NOW he would push for a measure later this year to allow hemp products in states that have their own regulatory framework.

“A ban just shifts people to other products, either illegal products or narcotics and other prescription drugs,” Paul said. “But I don’t think any of these people know that Percocet is somehow better than taking a hemp product to go to sleep.”

While Republicans acknowledged that the White House’s reversal on these hemp products was a bit hazy, many suggested they would go along with the request because it was only a four-week delay.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who chairs the Agriculture Committee, said he was fine with postponing the rule, but noted that lawmakers would have to settle on a final position by December. 

As for the White House’s reasoning on the abrupt policy shift, Boozman only offered that “this is their delay.”

“I’m very much against hemp,” Boozman told MS NOW. “But I don’t have any problems with a three- or four-week delay.”

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., who is cosponsoring Budd’s amendment, confirmed that the White House wanted the delay, but said he couldn’t explain why they were trying to hold off on the implementation of their own law. 

“You’ll have to ask the White House,” he told MS NOW.

Even Republicans who are trying to work out a compromise acknowledged that the issue had become unusually contentious.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., the chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds agriculture agencies, said he wanted Republicans to come together and find an agreement that works.

“And I’m working hard to get there,” Hoeven told MS NOW. “And it’s tougher than you think it’d be.”

The post ‘Reefer Madness’: White House’s hemp reversal divides GOP — and sparks conflict of interest concerns appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.