Psaki Confronted Over White House Firing Staffers for Pot Use: ‘It Is Still Illegal Federally’

Last week the Biden White House disciplined staffers over past marijuana use, and even asked some to resign.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tried to respond to the criticism last week by saying, “As a result, more people will serve who would not have in the past with the same level of recent drug use. The bottom line is this: of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy.”

As a result, more people will serve who would not have in the past with the same level of recent drug use. The bottom line is this: of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy.

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 19, 2021

Psaki was confronted during Wednesday’s briefing by one reporter who said, “Vice President Kamala Harris says that she is a past marijuana smoker… She is with a clear majority of the U.S. population in supporting marijuana legalization, according to polls.”

“Yet last week The Daily Beast reported that there were dozens of White House staffers who were either disciplined or terminated from their jobs for past marijuana use. You seemed to confirm five terminations on Twitter, and my question is why would President Biden allow this to happen, especially considering the White House staff were led to believe that pot use would not be disqualifying, and especially considering the vice president is herself a former marijuana user.”

Psaki said the White House worked with the Security Service and noted “the rules were actually far more stringent” in the Obama administration.

“That isn’t about anyone’s personal point of view, it’s about working through the process, the history, and modernizing it, and taking steps to address the fact that marijuana is legal in a number of states across the country. It is still illegal federally, right? We know that,” she said.

Psaki also claimed they’re trying to “enable additional members of the team who would not have been able to continue serving in past administrations to continue serving by updating our policy and coordination with the Security Service.”

When questioned on whether the president could just implement changes, Psaki said, “If marijuana was federally legal, that might be a different circumstance.”

You can watch above, via C-SPAN.