White House’s push to delay hemp product ban could have big benefit to Susie Wiles’ son-in-law: reports

The Trump administration’s push to delay a ban on intoxicating hemp products could have a big benefit to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ son-in-law, according to new reports.

Last fall, President Donald Trump signed a spending bill to end the longest shutdown in history, which included a ban on hemp products containing certain amounts of THC, the main intoxicating compound found in cannabis. Now, the White House seems to have reversed course, reportedly pushing lawmakers on Capitol Hill to delay the very ban Trump enacted.

While the White House maintains that its new stance on the issue is in the interest of the American people, reports from The New York Times and MS NOW suggest that the move would allegedly benefit Wiles’ son-in-law, Bret Worley.

Worley, who married Wiles’ younger daughter Caroline in June, is the CEO of MC Nutraceuticals, a global supplier of hemp products. His company has been reportedly pushing industry allies to pressure lawmakers to delay the ban on hemp products, which is set to take effect on November 12.

In a new stopgap spending measure to avoid another shutdown at the end of September, senators added a provision delaying the implementation of the hemp product ban to December 11, reports say. The measure will be up for a vote this week.

“The Chief of Staff has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to the media.

“The only interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people, and the Administration continues to explore a Gold Science Standard-based framework on hemp to expand treatment options for American veterans and patients,” Desai said.

The Independent has reached out to the White House and Worley for comment.

As the spending measure was announced Sunday, MC Nutraceuticals said in an email to prospective buyers that the hemp industry now had “a seat at the table,” according to the Times.

Senator Ted Budd, a North Carolina Republican, has pushed against the delay of the hemp product ban, writing on X Monday, “I’m offering an amendment to the CR [continuing resolution] to strip out an extension of the hemp loophole to ensure unregulated, dangerous intoxicants are not sold, especially to kids.”

The Food and Drug Administration wrote in an October 2024 notice that it was concerned about products containing delta-8 THC “in forms such as candy, chips, cereals and other foods that appeal to children.”

Budd told MS NOW that the White House’s new stance on the ban is “absolutely ridiculous.”

“We fixed this thing last year. We fixed it last November. They’ve had nine months to work on this, so why, all of a sudden, pop up for some seemingly innocent delay?” he said.

But Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican, said the delay was worth it if it meant avoiding another shutdown. Last fall’s shutdown caused major airport disruptions due to staff shortages as agencies lacked the funds to pay government workers.

“I prefer that we don’t extend it, but I can live with a monthlong extension in exchange for keeping the government open,” Capito told the Times.