According to a senior advisor to President Trump who spoke with The Marijuana Herald, the president recently held a phone call with Senate Majority Leader John Thune in which he urged him to allow a full Senate vote on the SAFE Banking Act, the bipartisan marijuana banking legislation which was refiled recently in both the House and Senate.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would provide federal protections for banks, credit unions and other financial institutions that work with state-legal marijuana businesses. Supporters have long argued that the measure is needed to reduce the industry’s reliance on cash, improve public safety and provide greater financial transparency for a market that is now legal in some form in a majority of states.
According to the senior advisor, Trump views SAFE Banking as one piece of a broader federal marijuana strategy that also includes rescheduling, along with the creation of a commission to study removing marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances altogether. The advisor said Trump believes the combination of rescheduling, marijuana banking reform and a descheduling commission (expected to be formally announced in August) could help win over voters and maintain and potentially even increase support from the cannabis industry heading into the midterm elections.
According to the advisor, Thune did not indicate during the call whether he plans to bring SAFE Banking to a vote, instead taking a largely listening posture as the president made his case.
The call comes shortly after the SAFE Banking Act was refiled in Congress with bipartisan support in both chambers. It also comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) privately told members of the Republican caucus that he would not stand in the way of a full House vote on the measure if a majority of House Republicans support advancing it, according to staffers who previously spoke with The Marijuana Herald.
Johnson remains personally opposed to marijuana banking reform, but his willingness to allow a vote if there is sufficient Republican support could significantly improve the bill’s chances in the House.
The larger question remains whether Thune will allow the Senate to take up the measure. SAFE Banking has passed the House multiple times in previous sessions of Congress, and a version of the proposal was approved by the Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support. However, it has never received a vote in the full Senate.
That includes during the last Congress, when then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) repeatedly said he intended to bring the bill to the floor. Despite those assurances, the measure was never given a vote before the end of the session.
Supporters of SAFE Banking have argued that the bill is one of the most achievable marijuana-related reforms in Congress, given its backing from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as law enforcement groups, financial institutions, state officials and cannabis businesses.
The bill would not legalize marijuana federally, nor would it require banks to work with cannabis businesses. Instead, it would prevent federal regulators from penalizing financial institutions solely for providing services to marijuana businesses that are operating legally under state law.
The legislation has been a top priority for the marijuana industry for years, with operators and advocates warning that the lack of access to traditional banking services forces many businesses to operate largely in cash. They say this creates safety risks for workers and customers, while making it more difficult for businesses to secure loans, process payments and handle basic financial services.
The SAFE Banking Act is sponsored in the Senate by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In the House, the measure is being led by Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH), along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors.
