Chad Chronicle chairs Hillsborough committee in Florida, Photo: Jefferee Woo / Zuma Press
Chad Chronicle, who was nominated by US presidential candidate Donald Trump to head the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing his candidacy. In a message posted on the social network X, Chronicler explained that while the nomination was a “lifetime honour”, he concluded that he still had many important tasks to perform in his current role as Hillsborough County Sheriff. “There is still much to be done for the citizens of the county and the many initiatives I am dedicated to,” he added, according to CBS News.
Trump announced his nomination on Saturday, noting that Chronister would be appointed to help “stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs across the southern border” of the United States. The DEA is the federal agency responsible for drug enforcement and anti-drug laws, with around 10,000 employees and is one of the most important aspects of the US opioid crisis.
However, Chronister’s candidacy has been criticised by some in the Republican Party. Despite the support of local politicians, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, some conservatives have expressed dissatisfaction with his past decisions. In particular, in 2020, he ordered the arrest of Pastor Rodney Howard-Brown for holding services at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions on gatherings were imposed. Although the charges against the pastor were later dropped, the move sparked outrage among some conservatives.
In addition, Chronicle became the first Hillsborough County sheriff to march in the Tampa Pride Parade in 2018 and led programmes to work with the LGBTQ community, which also did not find support in some conservative circles.
This is the second Trump nomination to be withdrawn. Earlier, in October, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was nominated by Trump to be Attorney General, also withdrew his nomination after a wave of criticism from some members of the Republican Party.
