The 118th Congress is off to a rocky begin. And as Republicans within the Home battle to coalesce round a speaker, one GOP congresswoman who backs marijuana legalization took a success at a colleague who additionally helps legalization with an accusation that he is perhaps excessive on medication.
For advocates, it’s not probably the most reassuring sort of get together infighting. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) are among the many few Home Republican champions of hashish reform, and the early battle may threat miserable efforts to construct on bipartisan momentum to maneuver the difficulty ahead this session.
Mace has gone after Gaetz from a number of angles in latest days over the congressman’s position in rallying opposition towards Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who obtained the GOP nomination for speaker however has failed in a number of votes to safe majority help within the chamber to tackle the highest position. That is the primary time in a century that the Home hasn’t elected a speaker within the first spherical of voting.
On Wednesday, as simply earlier than Home held its fourth vote for speaker in two days, Mace delivered one other critique: “I do know individuals assume I’m the weed girl…however critical query @repmattgaetz, what are you on?”
I do know individuals assume I am the weed girl…however critical query @repmattgaetz, what are you on?
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 4, 2023
Mace sponsored a complete legalization invoice final session and has made a reputation for herself as some of the vocal proponents of reform within the chamber, submitting laws to enact marijuana coverage modifications up till the final days of the prior Congress.
However whereas she advised Marijuana Second following final yr’s election that she’s optimistic about advancing the difficulty even after Republicans took the bulk within the Home, the intraparty battle raises some questions concerning the extent to which members will have the ability to collaborate constructively.
Marijuana Second reached out to Gaetz for touch upon the congresswoman’s assault, however he didn’t reply by the point of publication.
Each Mace and Gaetz additionally stand out as members who’re significantly lively on Twitter and prepared to make use of their platforms to lift hashish coverage points.
As bipartisan lawmakers labored towards the clock to maneuver marijuana banking laws through the latest lame duck session, Mace lamented “misinformation about how its passage was imminent” and stated “we should look forward and look past” the hashish banking reform “subsequent Congress.” The tweet was deleted shortly thereafter, and employees advised Marijuana Second that the plan was to publish a deeper thread on the subject the next day, however that didn’t occur.
One other commonality between the congressional lawmakers: they each filed hashish laws with days left within the final session. Mace launched a invoice to supply federal tax reduction to the marijuana trade; Gaetz filed a hashish analysis invoice. Whereas it was obvious that neither would advance earlier than the session ended, it displays their mutual curiosity within the situation—a shared legislative purpose that advocates hope is not going to be compromised by this week’s unrelated rut.
Mace’s drug-centered assault on Gaetz on Wednesday didn’t have something to do together with his precise coverage positions on hashish reform. However for what it’s value, the selection for speaker—every time that comes—may have important implications for federal marijuana points. Marijuana Second analyzed McCarthy’s document, in addition to these in different Home management positions inside the Republican and Democratic events.
It’s not clear if McCarthy will in the end prevail towards the intractable opposition of Gaetz and greater than a dozen of his colleagues. What is obvious, nonetheless, is that congressional marijuana reform isn’t taking place till somebody is elected speaker, as no Home members will be sworn in until that occurs.
Whether or not there’s long-term fallout between the 2 GOP marijuana reform allies, and what they may imply for future laws, is one other query.
Picture courtesy of Philip Steffan.