A senior adviser to President Donald Trump tells The Marijuana Herald that the president is “not happy” with delays in the federal marijuana rescheduling process and plans to reach out to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terrance Cole about accelerating it.
“The president is not happy with the delays in the rescheduling process, and he will be reaching out to Attorney General Blanche and Terry Cole at the DEA to see what can be done about speeding things up,” the adviser told The Marijuana Herald on Tuesday.
The comments come as the broader federal rescheduling proceeding faces another delay, albeit a potentially short one. On Tuesday, the DEA administrative law judge overseeing the case paused the proceeding for two weeks after opponents of rescheduling sought to introduce a newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining the federal drug scheduling process.
The September 23 report found that DEA lacks comprehensive written policies identifying roles, responsibilities and procedures for evaluating and scheduling controlled substances. The GAO recommended that DEA establish formal policies and procedures, a recommendation the agency agreed with.
The judge has ordered additional briefing before deciding whether the report should be added to the rescheduling record, temporarily delaying the proceeding.
Trump has previously directed his administration to expedite marijuana rescheduling. In December 2025, he signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move forward with completing the process of rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
The Department of Justice took additional action in April, moving certain FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana regulated under qualifying state medical marijuana programs to Schedule III while beginning an expedited hearing process over broader rescheduling.
That hearing ran from June 29 through July 15, with the broader proceeding still pending before DEA.
Blanche and Cole are particularly important figures in the process. Federal law places controlled substance scheduling authority with the attorney general, with much of that authority delegated to DEA, while Cole oversees the agency handling the rescheduling proceeding. It’s possible that neither official could simply disregard the ongoing administrative process or other federal procedural requirements, but they could potentially prioritize the case, push for quicker agency action and avoid unnecessary delays.
Trump reaching out to both officials therefore would not guarantee an immediate move to Schedule III, but it could place significant pressure on the Justice Department and DEA to resolve the proceeding more quickly.
