White House pushed to delay hemp ban while Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' son-in-law stood to profit

On August 6, 2026, reporting revealed that the White House had been pushing Congress to delay a federal ban on intoxicating hemp products just before it was scheduled to take effect, even though President Trump signed the ban into law less than a year earlier as part of a broader spending package. The ban, targeting THC-content hemp products like delta-8 gummies, was due to take effect November 12, 2026; the White House backed a stopgap funding provision moving that date to December 11.

NBC News reported that four people with direct knowledge of the matter said the White House had been actively engaged in pushing for the delay. MS NOW and other outlets reported that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' son-in-law, Bret Worley, is CEO of MC Nutraceuticals, a major hemp-derived product manufacturer and distributor that stands to benefit from the delay; Worley's company sent industry allies an email urging them to lobby senators for the funding-bill provision. The New York Times separately reported that MC Nutraceuticals told prospective customers the industry had secured "a seat at the table" in the negotiations.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said Wiles "has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill" and that the administration's decision-making served only "the best interest of the American people." Neither Wiles nor Worley responded to reporters' requests for comment. Republican senators including Ted Budd of North Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas publicly objected to the White House's position, with Cotton confronting White House legislative director James Braid at a Capitol Hill lunch over what he called "gas station marijuana candy."