Congress is expected to revisit cannabis-related issues this fall, including banking access for marijuana businesses, according to political experts in Washington.
David Culver, a top executive at the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, a leading advocacy group, said he believes there’s a strong chance that Congress will approve the SAFE Banking measure before the current session ends. “This is the most promising window we’ve had so far,” Culver said in an interview.
However, the bill’s progress is on hold until Congress handles a top priority: President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Lawmakers from both parties agree that this bill takes precedence.
Senator Bernie Moreno, who is leading GOP support for the Senate version of the cannabis banking bill, said the Senate will likely turn its attention back to SAFER Banking sometime in the fall.
Currently, most congressional action is stalled as Republican legislators remain divided over Trump’s broad immigration and tax bill. GOP leaders in the Senate have said they aim to send the finalized bill to Trump by Independence Day. But complications arose when House Republicans pushed back on changes introduced in the Senate.
Representative Andy Harris, who heads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, stated that the House version must be the final framework. “Our red line is clear,” he told the Washington Post. “It needs to match what we passed in the House.”
Delays in reaching an agreement on Trump’s bill could stall other bills, including cannabis-related legislation.
Meanwhile, Harris is also backing a separate proposal that would change the legal definition of hemp at the federal level to ban products containing hemp-derived THC and THCA flower. However, the odds of that measure passing are low, especially since several GOP lawmakers represent states with booming hemp markets.
Cannabis banking had been at the top of the legislative agenda until the Biden administration moved to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to III under the CSA in 2022. That change would offer immediate tax benefits to cannabis companies—something that banking reform alone wouldn’t provide.
But with rescheduling efforts currently stalled, attention is once again turning to the need for financial access. While the House has passed banking reforms several times under Democratic control, the Senate has yet to follow through.
Advocates say passing SAFER Banking could pave the way for more reforms, including standardized THC regulation and nationwide cannabis commerce.
Major marijuana industry players like Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CNX: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) will be hoping that some regulatory reforms are enacted sooner rather than later given the numerous headwinds that the industry is currently facing.
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