Five White House staffers have been fired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday “there were additional factors at play in many instances for the small number of individuals who were terminated.” Marijuana has become a delicate issue for President Joe Biden’s administration because 15 states and Washington, D.C., allow for recreational usage, despite a federal prohibition. Psaki says the administration has tried not to automatically penalize potential staffers for legal behavior in their communities by developing a more flexible policy. Hundreds of aides in the 2-month-old administration have cleared the suitability review by career staffers handling security issues.
