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President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Drug Enforcement Administration has declined the role after Republican lawmakers blasted him for taking COVID measures seriously during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, a Florida Republican, said in a statement Tuesday that he had decided to drop out after the “gravity of this very important responsibility set in.”
“To have been nominated to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime,” Chronister said in a statement. “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration.”
Trump picked Chronister ― who has worked in the sheriff’s office for more than 30 years in the Tampa area ― on Saturday. Chronister has been elected three times to his current position as sheriff for Hillsborough County, The New York Times reported.
According to The Times, Chronister has “virtually no experience with the complex international investigations for which the [DEA] is known.” Chronister’s fellow conservatives also pushed back against his nomination over his actions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Following Trump’s announcement, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said on Sunday that Chronister should be “disqualified” for ordering the arrest of a megachurch pastor who defied the 2020 COVID lockdowns by holding a church service. Charges against the pastor were later dropped.
“I’m going to call ’em like I see ’em,” Massie posted on X. “Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest [of] a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns.”
And Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Fox News, “We don’t need authoritarians who refuse to use discretion and protect the Constitution – no matter which party is in power.”
Following Chronister’s announcement, Massie posted on X that he was happy with the decision.
“Glad to see him withdraw from consideration,” Massie said. “Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution.”