Chad Chronister, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced Tuesday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration, citing goals he has yet to accomplish as sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida. Are.
Calling the nomination “the honor of a lifetime”, Chronister said In a social media post on And I am committed to delivering on many of the initiatives.”
Trump announced Saturday that he would appoint the Republican Florida sheriff to be the administrator of the DEA and “help stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs across the southern border.”
CBS News Miami
Chronister Used to be Sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, as he was appointed to the role by then-Gov. Rick Scott 2017, and has won re-election twice. He has been with the department for 32 years. Hillsborough County covers much of the Tampa Bay metro area.
The outgoing DEA Administrator is Anne Milgram, who has served in the role for almost the entire term of President Biden.
The DEA, which is part of the Justice Department, has approximately 10,000 employees and is tasked with enforcing America's drug laws. Among its key mandates has been addressing the opioid crisis.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” In September, Milgram said that America was “losing a generation” due to fentanyl.
Milgram said, “As complex and big a problem as this is, it is not that big. We know who is responsible for it.” “It's the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel that are based in Mexico. They dominate and control the entire global fentanyl supply chain, starting from China, all the way to Mexico, coming into the United States.”
During his campaign, Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking, and this week, Trump followed through on that by threatening To impose blanket 25% tariffs on both Mexico and Canada until those issues are appropriately addressed to their liking.