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The omnibus package is on the path to passage, but the expected exclusion of marijuana banking reform has spawned a battle in the Senate GOP.

For months, top Democrats and a number of Republicans had high hopes that legislation allowing banks to offer services to cannabis businesses in states where it has been legalized would be part of either the year-end National Defense Authorization Act or the omnibus package.

Those dreams were dashed last week when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took a two-by-four to the plan, likely leaving the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act on the cutting room floor this year. 

That has put Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) in a tricky position.

Daines, the newly minted chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), is the lead Republican on the SAFE Banking bill.

Montana is among the 19 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have legalized marijuana for recreational use.

On top of that for Daines, the push to legalize marijuana is broadly popular. According to a Pew Research survey taken last month, 88 percent of U.S. adults say it should be legalized for both medical and recreational use. Only 10 percent oppose the push. 

To read more, click on The Hill

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