President-elect Donald Trump‘s decision to nominate Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration is an unforced blunder that will complicate the president’s ability to reform federal law enforcement.
Unlike his other nominees to lead major law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Justice, Trump’s decision to appoint Chronister as the leader of the agency charged with enforcing the nation’s drug laws flies in the face of his commitment to drain the swamp.
The Hillsborough County sheriff has a long and sordid history of making the exact sort of decisions that have contributed to widespread distrust in law enforcement. He arrested a pastor who defied the lockdowns during the pandemic, has used his office to promote the political agenda of the gay and transgender movement, and has refused to enforce Florida’s laws prohibiting employers from hiring illegal immigrants.
The refusal to enforce immigration laws is arguably the most concerning, given its relevance to the DEA, which works closely with foreign law enforcement to limit the flow of drugs over the southern border.
In 2023, Florida enacted a new law that made transporting an illegal immigrant into the state or hiring an illegal immigrant a felony under state law. That was a bridge too far for Chronister, who released a video in June 2023 saying immigration enforcement was not his jurisdiction.
“We do not target individuals based on their immigration status — that’s the authority of federal agencies,” he said. “Our goal is to build trust and foster strong partnerships with all residents regardless of background.”
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While Chronister may enforce existing drug laws as head of the DEA, he has shown a disturbing pattern of poor and often partisan judgment that endears him to the Democratic Party far more than the Republican Party. Trump needs a DEA administrator who firmly believes in his administration’s mission to stop illegal immigration, end the flow of fentanyl over the southern border, and arrest and prosecute the drug cartels, all without turning the agency into a laboratory for experimenting with activist liberal social causes.
Trump can easily find another sheriff or individual with a law enforcement background to lead the DEA who has not politicized his office or shown a remarkable pattern of poor judgment when policing the community. Chronister’s nomination should be immediately withdrawn.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
