Trump’s pick for DEA administrator withdraws from consideration

By: CNN

Posted: Dec 4, 2024 12:51 PM EST

Chris O'Meara/AP/File via CNN Newsource

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, has withdrawn from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, he announced Tuesday.

“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,” Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County, posted on X.

“There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling. I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County,” he added.

The Trump transition team declined to comment on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, Trump said in a social media post that he pulled his support for the pick.

“He didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters,” the president-elect said on Truth Social.

Trump appears to be referring to a time early in the Covid-19 pandemic when Chronister arrested a Tampa-area pastor for defying a local lockdown ordinance and was critical of people continuing to congregate. The announcement of Chronister as Trump’s pick had received backlash from the MAGA corner of the Republican Party, which opposed some public safety measures put in place in during the pandemic.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky criticized Trump’s selection in a post on X on Sunday, saying the sheriff “should be disqualified” over his enforcement of Covid-19 protocols. Reacting to Chronister’s withdrawal Tuesday, Massie said in a separate post that he was “glad to see him withdraw from consideration.”

There was also a belief among some allies of the president-elect that Chronister was not a true Republican, let alone a Trump loyalist.

Chronister is the second of Trump’s picks to withdraw from being considered for a post in the next administration. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz announced last month that he’d no longer seek the position of attorney general as the conservative firebrand faced an uphill battle to be confirmed in the Senate. Trump replaced him with a fellow Floridian, former state Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is from Tampa.

Trump announced Chronister as his pick Saturday, writing in a social media post: “As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES.”

Chronister has served as the sheriff for Hillsborough County — which includes the city of Tampa — since 2017, when he was appointed to the post by then-Gov. Rick Scott, according to his office’s website. He has served with the sheriff’s office for 32 years and has been reelected twice since 2017 to serve as the county’s top law enforcement officer.

Chronister’s wife, Nicole DeBartolo, is the daughter of former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. During his first term, Trump granted Chronister’s father-in-law a presidential pardon after he pleaded guilty in 1998 to failing to report a felony in a bribery case, which led to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards’ federal prison sentence. While he didn’t serve jail time, Edward DeBartolo Jr. agreed to pay up to $1 million in fines and relinquished ownership of the NFL team to his sister.

This story has been updated Wednesday with additional details.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Steve Contorno and Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.