Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency, has withdrawn from consideration. The sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida had posted on X (formerly Twitter) on November 30th that he was “deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation,” but today, he said that “as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in,” and announced that he was bowing out.
In announcing Chronister’s nomination just three days ago, Trump called him a “proud graduate of the FBI National Academy,” and highlighted his participation in various state-level law enforcement initiatives. Chronister, who assumed office as sheriff in 2017, is co-chair of the Regional Domestic Security Task Force, and also on the Florida Attorney General’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, according to Trump’s post.
An unknown quantity at the federal agency he was meant to run, Chronister had connections to allies of the president-elect. He is the son-in-law of Edward J. Debartolo Jr., the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, who was pardoned in 2020 by President Trump. On November 22nd, Chronister congratulated Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, in a post on X, calling her a “selfless servant who will be tireless in keeping us all safe.” The post included a picture of the two of them at an event. Pam Bondi served as Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019, and represented Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020. More recently, she has been a part of a Trump-affiliated think tank, the Ameria First Policy Institute.
Chronister’s withdrawal makes two for the Trump administration’s nominees in as many weeks. Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz took himself out of the running for Attorney General on November 20th, amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. Gaetz resigned from office in the House of Representatives on November 13th, the day that Donald Trump nominated him.
