Donald Trump DEA pick Chad Chronister withdraws from consideration, citing 'gravity' of job

Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

Updated December 4, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.·1 min read

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration withdrew just two days after his selection was announced, citing the "gravity" of the job.

Trump had selected Chad Chronister, the sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida, to lead the DEA on Sunday. At the time, Chronister called it the "honor of a lifetime" and said he was “deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation.”

But on Tuesday, Chronister posted on X that he had reconsidered.

"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 wrote.

This is the second Trump administration pick to withdraw. Trump's first choice for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., dropped out of contention amid questions about whether he could be confirmed by the Senate.

Trump has promised to tackle the fentanyl crisis that has resulted in a wave of overdose deaths, and the DEA will be crucial in that effort. The agency, part of the Justice Department and tasked with enforcing the nation's drug laws, has 10,000 employees, including 4,600 agents. It has a $3.2 billion budget.

Chronister has been a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office employee for more than 32 years and said Tuesday that "there is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling."

In 2020, Trump pardoned Chronister's father-in-law, Edward DeBartolo Jr., for his involvement in a gambling fraud case in Louisiana in the late 1990s.

USA TODAY has reached out to Trump's transition team for comment.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's pick to lead Drug Enforcement Administration withdraws

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