GOP Senator Says Marijuana Banking Bill Remains Stalled—But Trump’s Rescheduling Order Could Spur Congress To Act
Marijuana banking bill fatigue tastes like burnt coffee on Capitol Hill, but the aroma changed the moment a rescheduling breeze slipped under the door. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation—SAFER—Banking Act sits on ice, almost daring anyone to touch it. Sen. Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican now expected to carry the banner, admits there’ve been no real talks to move the thing. Not this week, not with the government’s lights to keep on and health care subsidies to patch. Policy triage rules the day. Then came the jolt: an executive order directing agencies to start moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III and to test a Medicare pilot for CBD. Not legalization. Not even close. But a shift with teeth—symbolic and practical. It points at the IRS’s 280E chokehold and whispers: loosen up. For a town that runs on signals, this is a flare gun fired over a foggy harbor, the kind that makes bankers straighten their ties and staffers check their calendars. For a straight read on the order itself, see Trump Signs Executive Order To Reclassify Marijuana By Removing It From Schedule I.
The politics are messier than a late-night diner grill. Moreno hinted the move “changes it big time” for the marijuana banking bill, calling rescheduling an important domino. He’s not wrong. In Washington, the first domino is everything. Once the plant officially belongs in Schedule III, the conversation shifts from taboo to taxable, from reefer madness to regulated market. That recalibration could make skeptical Republicans less likely to die on the wrong hill—or, at least, to stop blocking the path. And the former president’s posture matters. When a party standard-bearer waves off the pearl-clutchers, it gives cover to the fence-sitters. For that, file under political calculus: Trump Dismisses GOP Lawmakers’ Opposition To His Marijuana Rescheduling Action, Pointing To Polling And Medical Benefits. This is where the Michigan-meets-Montana spectrum of Republican politics gets interesting, where polling numbers and medical value start to outweigh the old scripts. Call it marijuana policy reform by attrition.
On the ground, the cannabis industry impact turns on one ugly reality: banks hate risk. Even honest, state-licensed operators look radioactive when federal law whispers “Schedule I.” Many institutions have quietly played ball under old compliance memos, maintaining suspicious activity reports like rosary beads, but most prefer to sit out. That’s why a recent Senate Banking subcommittee hearing felt different. Chair Thom Tillis, not exactly a bong-ripping revolutionary, all but said the cannabis banking issue needs to be handled. That’s not a rave. It’s a baseline. Meanwhile, the executive order’s scaffolding isn’t just symbolism. The Schedule III track opens the door to deducting normal business expenses—rent, payroll, the boring bones of survival—and the Medicare CBD pilot nods to a future where cannabinoids live in the same pharmacy ecosystem as blood pressure meds. Some of that showed up in the tea leaves before the unveiling; for a look at the blueprint, see Trump’s Marijuana Executive Order Details Leaked Ahead Of Announcement, Including CBD And Hemp Provisions. If you run a dispensary, a grow, an edibles kitchen, Schedule III isn’t champagne—it’s a glass of cold water after a long shift.
Of course, if Congress were a kitchen, this bill would be the order that keeps getting bumped. The House has passed a version seven times. Seven. The Senate even marched it out of committee once, only to leave it cooling on the pass. Some lawmakers insist rescheduling won’t move their vote. Sen. Steve Daines has said the link to SAFE Banking isn’t automatic; colleagues guard their priors like treasured recipes. Others, like Sen. Ron Wyden, say rescheduling is the much-needed gut punch—the signal to finally modernize federal cannabis policy. Meanwhile, staunch opponents keep their lines simple: if it’s illegal federally, keep it out of the banking system. That refrain still echoes in hearing rooms. But it’s getting drowned out by accountants, mayors, and sheriffs who want trackable money, fewer safes in back rooms, less cash walking across parking lots at 2 a.m. For the human temperature check—across lawmakers, state officials, advocates, and industry—this roundup reads the room: Lawmakers, State Officials, Advocates And Industry React To Trump’s Marijuana Rescheduling Order.
So where does that leave the marijuana banking bill? Stalled, but simmering. Congress still has to keep the lights on and fight its endless family feuds. Yet rescheduling moves the goalposts in quiet, consequential ways. It narrows the moral panic, reframes cannabis as an industry with payrolls and audits, and hints at research that actually clears IRB hurdles. It doesn’t fix federal prohibition. It doesn’t erase the illicit market. It won’t rescue every small operator crushed by taxes and fees. But it gives moderates a clean excuse to vote yes, and it makes no-votes sound less like conviction and more like nostalgia. In the end, the Michigan cannabis market, the California survivors, and the new Ohio cohort all want the same thing: safe, transparent banking and a chance to breathe. If this town can’t deliver that, it can’t deliver much. Until the next domino falls, follow the money—and if you’re ready to explore compliant, high-quality options born of a legal market trying to grow up, take a look at our shop.
