President-elect Donald J. Trump nominated Sheriff Chad Chronister to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, but just three days later, he removed his name from consideration for the position on Tuesday. The sheriff’s department head of the Florida county where Tampa is located, Sheriff Chronister, sent a message on social media announcing his withdrawal, stating that he had reconsidered accepting the nomination when “the gravity of this very important responsibility set in.”
“I am dedicated to completing numerous initiatives and there is still more work to be done for the people of Hillsborough County,” he stated. “I truly appreciate the nomination, the overwhelming support from the American people, and I’m looking forward to serving as Sheriff of Hillsborough County.” Sheriff Chronister is Mr. Trump’s second nominee to withdraw from consideration with 48 days remaining before his inauguration. After it became apparent that he lacked the votes necessary to be confirmed in the Senate due to accusations of drug usage and sex trafficking, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration as attorney general last month. A few further selections may also encounter difficulties in the Senate.
Sheriff Chronister was an unexpected pick to lead the D.E.A., the country’s primary drug enforcement agency, which has operations in over 60 countries and manages intricate and challenging diplomatic investigations against Chinese money launderers and Mexican drug gangs. He had been a local law enforcement officer for thirty years, but he was not familiar with the geopolitical facets of the drug war. By threatening to impose tariffs on China and Mexico if they do not stop the flow of immigrants and narcotics into the United States, Mr. Trump has undoubtedly made that war more difficult.
Sheriff Chronister’s decision to strictly enforce COVID-19 laws during the pandemic drew criticism from some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent right-wing fans as soon as he was nominated. His arrest of a Florida pastor in March 2020 for conducting a church service in defiance of lockdown regulations was cited by his detractors. A video featuring Sheriff Chronister’s son, George Zachary Chronister, rapping about his role in a knife attack against another guy during a brawl in 2017 was also circulated by current and former D.E.A. agents. For the stabbing, the son received a 22-month prison sentence and then made a rap video called “Slash Yo Face” that detailed the incident.
After Mr. Gaetz resigned, Mr. Trump chose Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to lead the Justice Department; her withdrawal from consideration to lead the D.E.A. was a blow to Bondi. Sheriff Chronister, who held a lower-level post in the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office when Ms. Bondi was in charge of one of its sister agencies, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, is close to Ms. Bondi.
Sheriff Chronister, a native of Pennsylvania who previously worked as a hotel bellhop and in construction, married into a family connected to Mr. Trump over ten years ago. Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., his father-in-law, has contributed to Mr. Trump’s political campaigns and was pardoned by him in 2020. Mr. DeBartolo’s 1998 guilty plea related to an extortion scheme involving a Louisiana riverboat casino license that a business he invested in was pursuing was wiped by the pardon. Many veteran agents were unaware of Sheriff Chronister’s identity when he was assigned to lead the D.E.A. on Saturday night.
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