Trump's lobbying crisis deepens as mystery hemp payment to company managed by Susie Wiles' daughter emerges - weeks before THC ban was delayed

Detailed summary

Susie Wiles quit as Donald Trump's chief of staff last week as Republicans reeled from a midterm wipeout that handed Democrats the House and the Senate.

Published: 18:13 GMT, 12 November 2026 | Updated: 18:15 GMT, 12 November 2026

Susie Wiles quit as Donald Trump's chief of staff last week with Republicans reeling from a midterm wipeout that handed Democrats the House and the Senate.

Wiles, 69, was the president's gatekeeper, deciding who saw him and what landed on the Resolute Desk.

Republicans and MAGA influencers turned on her after the defeat, with some demanding that she take the fall.

But a former top aide to Robert F Kennedy Jr went further, accusing her of putting the donors bankrolling the midterm campaign ahead of voters.

Calley Means claimed during a bombshell interview with Joe Rogan that Wiles blocked a federal review into children's sugar consumption, telling him: 'I need the sugar industry money. I need the money for the midterms.'

Wiles denied his claims, with a spokesperson calling them 'outrageous, defamatory, and provably false.'

Representative Robert Garcia, the California Democrat set to chair the House Oversight Committee, still says he will look into Means' claims. Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the Justice Department will not investigate.

The dispute has put a spotlight on the money that swirls around Trump's Washington, where companies pay lobbyists millions to press their case with the government.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Mail. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.