Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “continues to oppose marijuana banking,” a spokesperson for his office told Marijuana Moment on Monday.
And another Senate source says that GOP leadership’s opposition to the reform as a policy matter is obstructing the path to advancing the cannabis measure as part of must-pass aviation legislation—rather than being it being a question of germaneness to the aviation bill, as one top industry group claimed last week.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has repeatedly described the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act as a top legislative priority for the remainder of the session. But given that he’s stressed it will require bipartisan cooperation, McConnell’s opposition raises questions about the bill’s prospects of being enacted this year.
Supporters are hoping that Senate Republicans who have championed the cannabis legislation—including the bill’s chief GOP sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MO)—will make their case to McConnell to allow it to advance without obstruction. But the minority leader has a history of proactive opposition to the reform, with Schumer blaming him in 2022 for blocking it from being attached to a separate must-pass defense bill, for example.
Marijuana Moment asked McConnell’s office about where the leader stands
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