Senate tables hemp amendment at center of funding fight, allowing one-month delay of ban
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A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to be delayed for a month after a last-minute effort to keep the original timeline failed.
The Senate voted 61-32 to table a bipartisan amendment from Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and about a dozen other senators to strip the delay from a stopgap government funding bill.
Opponents of the delay had been holding up consideration of the funding bill until GOP leadership allowed a vote on the amendment.
The provision at the heart of the controversy was inserted into the underlying legislation at the behest of the White House, which has made delaying or otherwise fixing the hemp ban a priority.
Hemp industry groups and their allies are touting the provision as a significant win that will give them more time to convince lawmakers to regulate their products, rather than ban them.
But the fight isn’t over, and Budd and the other supporters of his effort have indicated they will try again in the fall and winter. The funding bill lasts through Dec. 11, and White House officials have reportedly told senators they will not ask for another delay.
Trump signed the ban into law last year as part of a broader spending bill to reopen the government after a record-long shutdown. It was set to take effect Nov. 12.
The legislation redefined hemp to close what critics called the “hemp loophole” brought about by the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the controlled substances list. The fix was championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
The hemp industry has been lobbying furiously against it ever since, arguing the law would collapse a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Budd and other supporters say they are trying to protect children from illicit products that are intentionally marketed to children. The products are labeled as hemp, but contain extremely high levels of synthetic THC, the psychedelic compound in marijuana responsible for a high.
On Friday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz urged senators to oppose the amendment because it could interfere with an agency pilot program allowing access to certain hemp-derived products.
Budd said getting rid of unregulated products won’t do the damage Oz alleges.
“Why do unregulated intoxicating edibles need to be available at gas stations for CMS to continue studying hemp-derived pain relief?” Budd wrote on social media.
“Why should we allow these products on shelves for one more day when someone could make a decision that will alter their future by buying them?”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to be delayed for a month after a last-minute effort to keep the original timeline failed. The Senate voted 61-32 to table a…
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
Skip to content
A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to be delayed for a month after a last-minute effort to keep the original timeline failed.
The Senate voted 61-32 to table a bipartisan amendment from Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and about a dozen other senators to strip the delay from a stopgap government funding bill.
Opponents of the delay had been holding up consideration of the funding bill until GOP leadership allowed a vote on the amendment.
The provision at the heart of the controversy was inserted into the underlying legislation at the behest of the White House, which has made delaying or otherwise fixing the hemp ban a priority.
Hemp industry groups and their allies are touting the provision as a significant win that will give them more time to convince lawmakers to regulate their products, rather than ban them.
But the fight isn’t over, and Budd and the other supporters of his effort have indicated they will try again in the fall and winter. The funding bill lasts through Dec. 11, and White House officials have reportedly told senators they will not ask for another delay.
Trump signed the ban into law last year as part of a broader spending bill to reopen the government after a record-long shutdown. It was set to take effect Nov. 12.
The legislation redefined hemp to close what critics called the “hemp loophole” brought about by the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the controlled substances list. The fix was championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
The hemp industry has been lobbying furiously against it ever since, arguing the law would collapse a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Budd and other supporters say they are trying to protect children from illicit products that are intentionally marketed to children. The products are labeled as hemp, but contain extremely high levels of synthetic THC, the psychedelic compound in marijuana responsible for a high.
On Friday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz urged senators to oppose the amendment because it could interfere with an agency pilot program allowing access to certain hemp-derived products.
Budd said getting rid of unregulated products won’t do the damage Oz alleges.
“Why do unregulated intoxicating edibles need to be available at gas stations for CMS to continue studying hemp-derived pain relief?” Budd wrote on social media.
“Why should we allow these products on shelves for one more day when someone could make a decision that will alter their future by buying them?”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
Skip to content
A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to be delayed for a month after a last-minute effort to keep the original timeline failed.
The Senate voted 61-32 to table a bipartisan amendment from Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and about a dozen other senators to strip the delay from a stopgap government funding bill.
Opponents of the delay had been holding up consideration of the funding bill until GOP leadership allowed a vote on the amendment.
The provision at the heart of the controversy was inserted into the underlying legislation at the behest of the White House, which has made delaying or otherwise fixing the hemp ban a priority.
Hemp industry groups and their allies are touting the provision as a significant win that will give them more time to convince lawmakers to regulate their products, rather than ban them.
But the fight isn’t over, and Budd and the other supporters of his effort have indicated they will try again in the fall and winter. The funding bill lasts through Dec. 11, and White House officials have reportedly told senators they will not ask for another delay.
Trump signed the ban into law last year as part of a broader spending bill to reopen the government after a record-long shutdown. It was set to take effect Nov. 12.
The legislation redefined hemp to close what critics called the “hemp loophole” brought about by the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the controlled substances list. The fix was championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
The hemp industry has been lobbying furiously against it ever since, arguing the law would collapse a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Budd and other supporters say they are trying to protect children from illicit products that are intentionally marketed to children. The products are labeled as hemp, but contain extremely high levels of synthetic THC, the psychedelic compound in marijuana responsible for a high.
On Friday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz urged senators to oppose the amendment because it could interfere with an agency pilot program allowing access to certain hemp-derived products.
Budd said getting rid of unregulated products won’t do the damage Oz alleges.
“Why do unregulated intoxicating edibles need to be available at gas stations for CMS to continue studying hemp-derived pain relief?” Budd wrote on social media.
“Why should we allow these products on shelves for one more day when someone could make a decision that will alter their future by buying them?”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to be delayed for a month after a last-minute effort to keep the original timeline failed.
- The Senate voted 61-32 to table a…