You’re fired. Last Thursday, in a move that had been the subject of widespread speculation but perhaps earlier than some predicted, President Trump announced that Pam Bondi had been removed from her post as attorney general. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will take over on an acting basis.
What Happened?
Our friends at Marijuana Moment summed up the situation nicely:
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi will be transitioning out of the role. He is reportedly considering replacing her with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin—a move that could have major implications for marijuana reform as a proposal to federally reschedule cannabis remains pending at the Department of Justice.
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On Wednesday, The New York Times had reported that Trump has grown “frustrated” with Bondi’s leadership at DOJ, in particular her handling of the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
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While The Times did not mention marijuana as a reason for Trump’s reported dissatisfaction with Bondi, it has been more than three months since he issued an executive order directing her to complete the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III “in the most expeditious manner,” and that has not happened.
Why Does This Matter?
One thing is clear from Trump’s extensive and storied history with attorneys general: If they don’t do what he asks, they won’t be long for the task. Trump has expressed publicly that he wants his attorney general to reschedule marijuana. Bondi didn’t do so, and she is currently looking for work.
But does that mean that she lost her position because she did not announce the rescheduling of marijuana? It is hard to believe that is true. There are many more high-profile instances where the former attorney general drew the attention of the president (the handling of the records of a certain NYC financier comes to mind).
That raises the questions of (1) whether the to-be-nominated attorney general’s position on marijuana will have any, and if so, how much, impact on the nomination decision and (2) whether a new attorney general will feel compelled to reschedule marijuana considering the president’s December order. Let’s take a look at some of the names that have been mentioned in the past few days as successors to Bondi.
How Do the Perceived Replacements View Marijuana?
The acting attorney general will, at least initially, be Blanche – formerly the president’s personal attorney and most recently the deputy attorney general. He will stay in that role until a new attorney general is sworn in (which could be Blanche, as discussed below) or he is replaced by Trump, whichever happens first.
There are those at the Department of Justice who want to see Blanche get the top job. So, what does he think about marijuana? Again from Marijuana Moment:
During his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation process, Blanche said in response to a written question about marijuana rescheduling from Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) that he would “give the matter careful consideration after conferring with all relevant stakeholders, including [Drug Enforcement Administration] personnel.”
When asked about aligning federal and state marijuana laws, he said that “coordination between federal and state authorities is critically important” but that he had “not had the opportunity to study this particular issue.”
“If confirmed, I will consult with the necessary stakeholders and give this matter careful consideration,” he said.
When asked about Obama-era enforcement guidance that directed prosecutors to generally not interfere with state cannabis laws, which was rescinded during the first Trump administration Blanche replied: “I have not had occasion to study this particular issue,” “If confirmed…I think it is important to empower our U.S. Attorneys, who we trust to follow the law and to follow Department rules.”
The most mentioned name in Washington circles seems to be current EPA Administrator and former N.Y. Congressman Lee Zeldin. What is his relationship to marijuana?
As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he voted against a bill to federally legalize and tax marijuana in 2020 and was absent for a vote on a version of the legislation in 2022.
He voted in favor of 2015 amendments to protect state medical cannabis programs and CBD policies from federal interference but opposed amendments that year and in 2019 and 2020 to extend the protections to state recreational marijuana laws.
In 2015 and 2016, Zeldin voted for amendments to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations.
In 2022, Zeldin voted against an amendment to require federal agencies to review security clearance denials going back to 1971 and retroactively make it so cannabis could not be used “as a reason to deny or rescind a security clearance.”
In 2019, he voted in favor of a bill to increase marijuana businesses’ access to banking services but missed a vote on a later version of the legislation in 2021.
In 2019 and 2021, Zeldin voted against amendments aimed at removing restrictions on psychedelics research.
In 2021, he voted for an anti-reform amendment to remove protections for universities that study marijuana.
As a state senator in New York, he voted against the bill that legalized medical cannabis in 2014.
In a 2022 gubernatorial debate with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Zeldin complained about smelling cannabis in public and said he is opposed to opening drug overdose prevention centers.
Also that year, he criticized state regulators’ move to give priority access to marijuana dispensary licenses for people with prior convictions in an interview with Tucker Carlson in which he also questioned New York City’s move to allow safe consumption sites for illegal drugs to operate.
In a now-deleted tweet, Zeldin said that “the Criminals for Kathy coalition is growing.”
“Cannabis dispensary licenses are going to start getting distributed in NY, & the Hochul admin will be giving FIRST PRIORITY to people previously convicted for marijuana offenses,” he said. “Hochul’s criminal first agenda is so wrong for NY.”
NORML gave Zeldin a C- grade in its “Smoke the Vote” guide.
Zeldin does not appear to have publicly weighed in on the idea of rescheduling marijuana, and his mixed record on legislation related to medical cannabis, easing the process of research on controlled substances and broader marijuana reform raises questions about where he personally stands on the issue.
A local paper in Salt Lake City mentioned Utah Sen. Mike Lee as a potential nominee. While certainly an intelligent lawyer and lawmaker, he would not be a friend to the marijuana industry.
And of course, I checked Kalshi to see what the predictive markets have to say about the AG sweepstakes. You can catch current Texas AG Ken Paxton with a 6% chance to nab the nomination. Now that would be an elegant solution to the Texas Senate Republican primary. As a betting man, I wouldn’t take those odds.
Conclusion
So, what’s going to happen? Obviously it’s difficult to predict if, how, and when marijuana will be rescheduled when we don’t know who the chief law enforcement officer in the land will be and what the law enforcement priorities will look like at that time in this rapidly evolving national security landscape and era of heightened partisanship.
My lean is that marijuana, while an important issue to me and anyone who finds themselves reading this, is largely a question of inside baseball. I suspect a future nominee’s position on marijuana rescheduling will be, at most, incidental to his or her nomination. And I suspect the decision of whether to reschedule marijuana will remain a question of if that decision is deemed of sufficient importance in the midst of other seemingly more pressing issues and if it is one that will advance the future attorney general’s standing with the president.
