Chad Chronister announced Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration to run the Drug Enforcement Agency, three days after President-elect Donald Trump made announced he had selected the Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff for the position.
Although Trump touted Chronister and said he would work to ” stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs,” there was pushback against Chronister from conservatives for his enforcement of COVID-19 lockdowns during the pandemic.
Chronister said in a post on X that there was “more work to be done for the citizens” of his county.
In this Oct. 15, 2024, file photo, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister speaks during a press conference inside the Falkenburg Road Jail Assembly Room at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, in Tampa, Fla.
Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire via Shutterstock, FILE
“To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. 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,” he said in his post.
Trump did not immediately comment.
The position requires Senate approval.
At one point during the pandemic, Chronister arrested a pastor who defied lockdown orders and held a service which was blasted by many prominent conservatives.
Several of the sheriff’s opponents applauded his decision to withdraw from the position.
“Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., posted on X on Tuesday.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Source: abc news
