White House slammed after reportedly asking staffers to resign over past marijuana use: 'This is absolute bulls---'


President Biden's White House is drawing heavy criticism after reportedly sidelining staffers over their past marijuana use.
"Dozens" of White House staffers have either been suspended, asked to resign, or placed in a remote work program because of their past use of marijuana, The Daily Beast reports. Some staffers were reportedly informally told that Biden's administration was expected to overlook some past marijuana use, but they were later asked to resign.
This has reportedly occurred even in cases where the staffers only used marijuana in states where cannabis is legal. The Daily Beast's report acknowledges that in some cases, staffers being sidelined "could have potentially been a result of inconsistencies that came up during the background-check process," including regarding when they last used marijuana, but it adds this would still mean they were being punished for "violating thresholds of past cannabis use that would-be staffers didn't know about."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A White House spokesperson disputed the number of people that had been affected to The Daily Beast, adding it will "ensure that talented and otherwise well-qualified applicants with limited marijuana use will not be barred from serving the American people."
The report quickly sparked criticism, with The Atlantic's Derek Thompson writing it's "incredibly stupid for many reasons," among them being "that cannabis is legal is Washington, DC," while Bloomberg's Steven Dennis simply wondered if this means a "young Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or JFK [would] have been excluded from this White House." It also drew criticism from Sarah J. Galvez, who formerly served as director of social media for Biden.
"I really love my former team, but this is absolute bulls--- and archaic," Galvez wrote. "People legit moved from from spots where it's legalized — turning down various other job opportunities — only to have their jobs yanked from them."
In another tweet, Galvez said "multiple" people have been "texting me because they all lost their jobs."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meeting
Speed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
September 15 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include publisher advice for Kamala Harris, the radicalization pipeline, and flu season guidelines
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants