As official Washington excitedly trades theories about who authored the brazenly disloyal New York Times op-ed targeting the “amoral” character of President Trump and his policies, the president’s supporters should note well the central truth exposed in that gutless “opinion piece”: Namely, that there is a dedicated band of “senior officials in his own administration [who] are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of [the Trump] agenda.”
In nothing is this more apparent than in the recent revelation that a secret, inter-agency committee has recently been convened by social conservatives in the White House at variance with Trump’s stated support for easing the federal ban on marijuana. Trump has hinted he would allow states to forge their own paths on legalization without fear of contradicting federal policy or opening themselves to law enforcement action from Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department.
It has been an open secret since the beginning of this administration that many political appointees, including powerful figures in the White House, are staunchly opposed to key parts of the Trump agenda. This includes his commitment to a strong trade policy toward our competitors, and his tougher stance on illegal immigration. Most of this opposition stems from the fact that the president largely relied on the usual Republican suspects to supervise personnel and staffing, which has proved a fateful decision. Personnel is policy, as they say, and too many senior political appointees scattered throughout the agencies and even in the White House are wedded to an antiquated GOP policy agenda that Trump and his millions of supporters have soundly renounced.
The secret committee on weed referred to above is similarly wedded to marijuana polict that is at odds with Trump’s live-and-let-live approach to the growing movement towards legalization of marijuana at the state level. In addition to his wise pledge during the campaign to respect states that have moved to legalize pot, the president told reporters just months ago that he would “probably end up supporting” bipartisan legislation that would ensure the right of states to determine their own course on marijuana within their borders without fear of running afoul of federal law enforcement.
But according to recent reports, a new secret “Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee” has been tasked by the social conservative supporters of Attorney General Sessions within the White House to counter the supposedly “one-sided” and “inaccurate” prevailing positive narrative on pot use in the U.S.. The committee’s task is to collect “the most significant data demonstrating negative trends, with a statement describing the implications of such trends.”
In other words, the secret commission has charged nine federal departments with the propaganda project of compiling exclusively negative statistics and arguments against legalization, with the explicit intent of steering Trump away from his already-stated laissez-faire position on pot.
This is both bad politics and bad policy. One of Trump’s most amazing qualities is his instinctive grasp of political trends — his innate sense for issues which are both good politics and good policy. Once again, on pot policy his instincts were on the money. This makes it all the more frustrating that his own administration is working, under his nose, against making cannabis legal, even for those in medical need.
The president should disband this ad hoc (and possibly unsanctioned) commission and get back to where his political instincts took him on the issue. And then he should fire the members of the so-called “resistance” who put the project in motion.
Robert Wasinger served in senior advisory and liaison roles in President Donald Trump‘s campaign and transition team, after extensive experience on Capitol Hill.
