Senate Republicans handed President Donald Trump a victory in the administration’s fight against the fentanyl epidemic with the passage of legislation that imposes steep penalties on smugglers caught moving fentanyl analogs into or throughout the United States.
The Senate passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act 84-16 on Friday afternoon. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the legislation to classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I permanently under the Controlled Substances Act, the highest possible rating.
“This is not the end-all, be-all. There is no silver bullet short of national revival, universal revival to end the fentanyl epidemic, but there is silver buckshot,” Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said in a call with reporters before the vote Friday. “We do this, we do this, we do this, we do this. And you put it all together, and you begin to push back upon the terrible toll fentanyl and other drugs are having upon our society.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), one of 31 bipartisan co-sponsors, called the bill’s passage a “major accomplishment” for both Republicans and Democrats who have labored behind the scenes for years to get it done during the call with reporters.
Since 2018, fentanyl has been rescheduled temporarily as a Schedule I drug, but its classification is set to expire on March 31.
The HALT Fentanyl Act would update federal law to list fentanyl knockoffs in the same category as heroin or LSD permanently. Legal fentanyl used in medical settings would keep its Schedule II rating.
The bill also allows medical researchers to take fentanyl analogs and use them for research.
It will return to the House for a final vote before going to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Six Senate Democrats and one independent co-sponsored the legislation, which gave it the 60 votes needed to clear the filibuster if all Republicans voted in favor.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), another co-sponsor, said the bill’s passage signified a rare opportunity for members working across the aisle.
“I just feel very good about the wide margin that this bill has had through two or three roll call votes so far and hope it leads to a new day of more bipartisanship. I think [it is] probably naive in saying that, but I still have that hope,” said Grassley.
The bill passed the House in February, attracting 98 Democratic votes, but small differences in the Senate version mean the House will have to vote again for it to be sent to Trump’s desk.
The White House said last month that the administration “strongly supports” the HALT Fentanyl Act.
The bill would hand Trump another bipartisan legislative victory since returning to the White House in January. His first, the Laken Riley Act, requires federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes.
The Senate’s push against the fentanyl epidemic comes at the same time as Trump’s efforts to force Canada, China, and Mexico to crack down on border security and fentanyl seeping into the country.
Republicans have used the bill to reinforce Trump’s crackdown on the southern border in the first 50 days of his second term. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico in March in response to what the White House called “unchecked drug trafficking.”
Nearly 90% of fentanyl seized was at U.S. ports of entry, primarily between the U.S. and Mexico, where body smugglers, commercial trucks, and passenger vehicles attempted to transport it through customs inspection booths. But plenty more has managed to get through.
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In 2022, more than 109,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, including 75,000 who died from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl. Fentanyl-related substances are the No. 1 cause of death in U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Drug Enforcement Administration considers 2 milligrams of fentanyl, an amount that could fit on the tip of a pencil, lethal because it can put a user in a coma or cause death.
