A political action committee linked to President Donald Trump's fundraising network is spending nearly $1.8 million — money drawn from cannabis industry donations — on campaign ads supporting 11 vulnerable Republican members of Congress, several of whom have voting records opposed to marijuana legalization, according to a review of Federal Election Commission filings and reporting by Marijuana Moment.
Cannabis-funded PAC backs anti-marijuana Republicans in midterm ad campaign
A political action committee linked to President Donald Trump's fundraising network is spending nearly $1.8 million — money drawn from cannabis industry donations — on campaign ads supporting 11 vulnerable Republican members of Congress, several of whom have voting records opposed to marijuana legalization, according to a review of Federal Election Commission filings and reporting by Marijuana Moment.
The PAC, America First Agriculture Action Inc., received donations totaling at least $15.05 million from cannabis businesses or cannabis-industry-linked committees, according to FEC filings. In June alone, Trulieve Inc., Curaleaf Inc., Verano Holdings LLC, and Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc., along with entities tied to Green Thumb Industries and AYR Wellness Inc., contributed a collective $11.5 million to the committee.
The ads support Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Nick Begich (R-AK), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Scott Perry (R-PA), Bryan Steil (R-WI), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI). The spots highlight votes on issues such as banning congressional insider trading and cutting taxes, including eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. None of the ads mention marijuana.
Several of the featured lawmakers have opposed cannabis reform in various capacities. Fitzpatrick, Perry, and Steil each voted against Democratic-led bills to federally legalize marijuana in 2020 and 2022. Kiggans, as a Virginia state senator, voted against state cannabis legalization legislation. Ciscomani reportedly described the defeat of an Arizona marijuana legalization ballot initiative in 2016 as an 'awesome victory for our community.' Lawler said last year it would be 'wrong' for the Trump administration to reschedule cannabis, calling marijuana 'a gateway drug,' and he is a cosponsor of a bill that would continue to block marijuana businesses from taking federal tax deductions under IRS code 280E even after rescheduling. Lawler also signed a letter to the president arguing that rescheduling 'would send the wrong message to America's children, enable drug cartels, and make our roads more dangerous.'
Perry's record is mixed: he backed amendments protecting state medical cannabis programs in 2015 and supported veterans' medical marijuana access measures in 2015 and 2016, but voted against similar broad amendments in 2019 and 2020 and against the 2020 and 2022 federal legalization bills. Fitzpatrick opposed veterans' medical marijuana amendment votes in 2014, 2015, and 2016, while both Fitzpatrick and Perry voted in favor of legislation expanding cannabis businesses' banking access in 2019 and 2021.
The treasurer of America First Agriculture Action Inc., Charles Gantt, is also named as treasurer of Trump's political committee, MAGA Inc., which has separately received $2.05 million from a cannabis-industry-backed committee, the American Rights and Reform PAC, Inc. That committee gave an additional $1.5 million to the agriculture PAC in a prior period. Curaleaf executive Matt Harrell is listed as treasurer of the American Rights and Reform PAC. Earlier FEC records also show Trulieve and Curaleaf contributed a combined $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee following his 2024 election victory.
The cannabis industry contributions to Trump-linked PACs came weeks after the Department of Justice announced it was moving forward with federal marijuana rescheduling. Under an action announced by Attorney General Todd Blanche in April, state-licensed medical cannabis products immediately moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, as did any marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A hearing is considering broader rescheduling, including for recreational products. Trump backed rescheduling during the 2024 campaign and issued an executive order on the matter in December.
Despite the administration's rescheduling moves, Republican congressional leadership has been resistant to cannabis reform. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Marijuana Moment this month that he thinks 'marijuana is a gateway drug, and it causes other problems down the road.' The GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee this year voted to block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling. In contrast, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier this year that Democrats will 'be in a position to do something about' marijuana laws 'in the next Congress' if the party wins back the House majority in November.
The ad expenditures were first reported by Puck News, which characterized the ads as a 'reward' for most of the lawmakers voting to support recent spending legislation that included a provision delaying the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products. Marijuana Moment disputed that framing, noting that some of the cannabis companies whose money funds the ads view hemp products as competition and support efforts to restrict that industry, and that there was no standalone vote on the hemp ban delay provision.
- The source does not state whether any of the 11 featured lawmakers were aware their campaigns were being supported with cannabis industry funds.
- The source does not state whether America First Agriculture Action Inc. or the cannabis company donors responded to requests for comment about the ads or the apparent contradiction between donor interests and some lawmakers' voting records.
- The source does not state the total dollar amount allocated to each individual lawmaker's ad campaign from the nearly $1.8 million in spending.
- The source does not state whether the Trump administration has commented on cannabis industry donations to MAGA Inc. or affiliated PACs.
- The source does not establish whether the rescheduling litigation challenging the Trump administration's action has reached a conclusion.
- The source does not state which specific zip codes in Washington, D.C. were targeted by the August rescheduling advocacy ad beyond noting it targeted 'multiple zip codes throughout Washington, D.C.'
Read the original at Marijuana Moment