Senators Disagree On Whether Trump Rescheduling Marijuana Would Get Industry Banking Bill Across The Finish Line

Bipartisan senators tell Marijuana Moment that they remain eager to advance
a marijuana banking bill—though there’s disagreement about whether a
decision from President Donald Trump to reschedule cannabis would open the
door to passing additional reforms in Congress.

In a series of interviews on Thursday, Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Dan
Sullivan (R-AK) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) were asked about the pending
rescheduling proposal that Trump said in late August would be decided on
within weeks. They were also pressed on the potential impact of that policy
change on congressional attitudes toward other cannabis legislation that’s
so far stalled, including the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking
Act.

Daines, who’s been the lead GOP sponsor of that banking measure in past
sessions, said he’s “not sure absolutely” whether moving marijuana from
Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would
meaningfully affect how his colleagues approach the financial services
legislation. He said “many senators hold strong opinions,” and “they keep
those opinions separate from SAFE Banking.”

“I’m not a fan of recreational marijuana. I voted against it in Montana,
but it passed. But I definitely support SAFE Banking and taking that cash
off the streets, and put it into banks,” Daines said. “It’s the right thing
to do.”

Rescheduling would not federally legalize cannabis, but it would recognize
its medical value, lift certain research barriers associated with Schedule
I drugs and allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions
they’ve been barred from under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code
known as 280E.

“I’m going to stay out of it,” Daines said of the broader marijuana policy
debate, “but I’m still solidly behind SAFE Banking.”

Sullivan, for his part, said he’s “not tracking” developments on
rescheduling, and he suggested that his constituents have not been
especially vocal in their outreach to his office about the issue.

“My view is we have to just [pass] the Banking Act,” he said. “I mean,
that’s the one that’s got a lot of bipartisan support.”

Asked about rescheduling prospects, Wyden said he’s “working on it” and
“pushing” the administration to see the policy change through.

Unlike Daines, Wyden said rescheduling would send a “huge message” to his
colleagues about the need to “finally come up with a modern approach” to
marijuana laws.

“I’d like it a lot. I mean, it would set up the path to getting into a
store and all the areas where there’s consumer demand,” he said, adding
that Trump has “been all over the map on this, but I hope he’ll want to
help work out the market.”

“There are a lot of senators that are ready for it,” he said.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told AskAPol last month that he did feel that
Trump advancing rescheduling would be an “important domino” to advance the
bipartisan cannabis banking legislation.

The senator, who is expected to be the lead sponsor of the legislation this
Congress, previously said that the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation
(SAFER) Banking Act would be taken up this fall.

“We’re still seeing what we can do to get it done in Q4,” Moreno said. “As
you know, the Democrats give us a lot of stuff to do. We have to fund the
government, we have to get [the National Defense Authorization Act, or
NDAA] across the finish line. We’ve gotta get [Trump’s judicial
nominations] done.”

Whether Trump ultimately decides to move forward with rescheduling remains
to be seen. Despite his endorsement of rescheduling on the campaign trail
ahead of his election for a second term, he declined to restate that
support when asked about it during a briefing in August—though he did say a
decision would come within weeks.

Trump did also voice support for allowing marijuana industry banking access
on the campaign trail during his second term, but he’s been publicly silent
on that issue since the election.

Separately, the president last month posted a video on his Truth Social
platform promoting the health benefits of cannabis—suggesting that covering
CBD under Medicare would be “the most important senior health initiative of
the century.”


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
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Meanwhile, during a House Appropriations Committee markup last month, Rep.
Betty McCollum (D-MN) criticized the exclusion of provisions to protect
banks that work with state-licensed marijuana and hemp businesses from a
key spending bill.

Relatedly, a bipartisan coalition of 32 state and territory attorneys
general from across the U.S. recently called on Congress to pass a
marijuana banking bill to free up financial services access for licensed
cannabis businesses.

The Democratic Senate sponsor of the marijuana banking bill in past
sessions, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), recently said that, despite efforts to
coordinate meetings around the legislation, other priorities have taken
precedence for now.

In January, the office of Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), who is again leading the
effort on the House, told Marijuana Moment that he would be filing the cannabis
banking legislation this session but that its introduction was “not
imminent” as some earlier reports had suggested.

*The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. *

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