Senate passes bill to avert shutdown, delay hemp ban as midterms loom

Hemp delayDrama around passing the CR centered on a surprise, last-minute push by the White House to delay the upcoming federal ban on the sales of certain intoxicating, hemp-derived products. Budd’s amendment to remove the hemp ban delay in the funding bill was tabled by the Senate, in a vote of 61-32, in the early hours of Saturday. “A federal hemp ban would wipe out thousands of Minnesota jobs. Our farmers and small businesses are already following strong safety rules -- a one-size-fits-all federal ban ignores that,” said Klobuchar, top Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee. Political optics are dominating virtually all moves out of Washington as Republicans, backed by Trump, battle to keep control of the Senate and House.