Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister withdraws from consideration for DEA post

Dan Sullivan, Tampa Bay Times on Dec 3, 2024

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TAMPA, Fla. — Three days after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said late Tuesday that he no longer wants to be considered for the job.

The sheriff made the abrupt announcement on social media.

“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. “There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling.”

The sheriff offered no specific details about his reason for withdrawing his nomination.

Trump announced Saturday evening that Chronister was his pick to be the administrator for the federal agency in charge of enforcing the nation’s drug laws. The selection, while widely praised, was unusual in that Chronister had spent his career in local law enforcement.

The selection came a week after Trump picked Hillsborough County native Pam Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general, to lead the U.S. Department of Justice. Bondi, who began her career as a prosecutor in Tampa, has worked alongside Chronister and would have worked closely with him in his role at the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Chronister called his nomination to lead the federal agency the “honor of a lifetime.” Though the nomination drew praise from local law enforcement leaders, some national conservative political figures were questioning the selection by Monday and Tuesday. They noted that in 2020 Chronister arrested a church pastor who refused to abide by COVID-19 lockdown orders. Some also questioned Chronister’s policies and past actions on guns, immigration, protests and other issues.

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