The Senate voted 61-32 to preserve a four-week delay of the federal hemp THC ban before passing its funding bill 90-6, sending the fight to the House this fall.
NATIONAL, August 8, 2026: The Senate voted 61-32 on Friday to table an amendment from Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., that would have stripped a four-week delay of the federal hemp THC ban from a government funding bill, clearing the way for the chamber to pass the full continuing resolution 90-6 in the early hours of Saturday, according to Roll Call.
The delay, sought by the White House, pushes implementation of last November's federal hemp redefinition from November 12 to December 11 for products exceeding 0.3% total THC or 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The bill funds the government through December 11 and now heads to the House, which is not scheduled to return to session until the first week of September, Roll Call reported. Passage in the Senate came only after a days-long dispute over the hemp provision held up a timing agreement lawmakers needed to leave town for the August recess.
Budd and Ricketts filed their amendment August 4 and pressed it on the Senate floor August 5, arguing the extension would let intoxicating hemp products marketed in packaging resembling candy remain on shelves longer, and citing federal data showing a 461% increase in pediatric cannabinoid-related emergency room visits among children 11 and younger from 2018 to 2023, according to Cannabis Business Times. President Trump called Budd on August 4 to discuss a federally regulated framework for hemp products but did not ask him to withdraw the amendment, Cannabis Business Times reported, citing Politico.
The White House's role drew its own scrutiny this week. Spokesman Kush Desai told MS NOW that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has not lobbied Congress on the hemp extension, after media reports questioned a potential conflict of interest tied to her son-in-law's position as chief executive of a hemp-derived cannabinoid company, according to Cannabis Business Times.
The August 4 letter from 35 state and territorial attorneys general opposing the delay, previously reported, was cited by Budd and Ricketts as part of the case for their amendment, but did not change the outcome. With the Senate's vote locking in the December 11 date for now, attention turns to whether the House, once back in session, revisits the hemp provision before the government funding measure comes up for a final vote.
Forma works embedded on hemp and THC beverage formulation and commercial scale-up, from compliant dosing and label claims through co-packer qualification. This wire is a byproduct of the same regulatory tracking that informs that work.
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