Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), President Donald Trump’s initial pick for U.S. attorney general, wouldn’t smoke a joint during an interview with Bill Maher—but he did call out his party for being on the wrong side of the marijuana legalization debate.
On Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, the controversial former congressman, who resigned from office after Trump first tapped him to run the Justice Department, briefly touched on cannabis policy issues as the host customarily puffed on a joint.
Asked whether he’s stopped smoking marijuana himself, Gaetz joked, “I won’t with you. It would mess with all the molly I took on the way here.”
It was a somewhat loaded question given revelations from a House Ethics Committee report that included references to Gaetz’s alleged drug use and procurement of cannabis using a pseudonymous email account from the Capitol complex.
In any case, Gaetz and Maher discussed the former lawmaker’s record of advocating for cannabis reform—both in the Florida legislature where he helped advance state medical marijuana laws and in Congress where he was one of the only GOP lawmakers to vote in favor of a Democratic-led legalization bill.
The also briefly noted the failure of an initiative to legalize marijuana that appeared on Florida’s ballot in November.
Later in the interview, Gaetz was asked what issues he felt Republicans are “most wrong” about, and he quickly replied that “my side is wrong on marijuana reform,” as well as certain climate and surveillance policies.
To that point, numerous polls have found strong bipartisan support for ending cannabis prohibition, yet GOP leadership in Congress has consistently resisted those calls for reform.
For some stakeholders, Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration for attorney general came as a disappointment, as it seemed possible that having a pro-legalization official head DOJ could help facilitate key reforms. Now Trump has picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to lead the department, and her record on cannabis issues is more mixed.
In a series of questions submitted by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month—inquiring about how she plans to navigate key marijuana policy issues, including the ongoing rescheduling process and renewing federal enforcement guidance—Bondi simply offered: “If confirmed, I will give the matter careful consideration after consulting with appropriate Department officials.”
Meanwhile, Gaetz isn’t the only high-profile official to join Maher for the podcast (and decline his invitation to smoke cannabis on it).
During his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy also talked about his support for federal marijuana legalization, saying the current state–federal conflict on cannabis is “a farce” that allows governments to unfairly target people.
And while he was running for the Democratic nomination before switching parties and being named Trump’s nominee for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also appeared on Maher where he spoke at length about his ambitious drug policy reform proposals.
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