Chad Chronister, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced he is withdrawing from consideration for the position
Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County in Florida, has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), after being nominated by President-elect Donald Trump.
In a message posted on X, Chronister stated that the gravity of the responsibility of the position led him to make this decision. He emphasized that there is “more work to be done” in his community and that he is committed to several local initiatives.
Chronister, who has been in law enforcement for over three decades and was appointed sheriff in 2017, thanked Trump for the nomination, describing it as “the honor of a lifetime.”
However, he did not cite specific reasons beyond his desire to continue serving his community. His candidacy had faced criticism, particularly related to his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced his decision.
Chronister faced backlash from several conservative figures for arresting a pastor for violating COVID rules
Reverend Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We announced the arrest of Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, pastor of The River church in Tampa Bay, who intentionally and repeatedly ignored state and local public health orders, putting his congregation and our community at risk,” Chronister noted in a tweet at the time.
“We hope this serves as a deterrent,” Chronister said during a 2020 press conference. “It is a shame that this pastor, his legal team, and the leaders of this church forced us to do our job. That is not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency.”
The charges were later dropped.
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