Florida sheriff Chad Chronister withdraws from nomination as Trump’s DEA head after backlash

Chad Chronister announced Tuesday that he is withdrawing his nomination as President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

"To have been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime," he wrote on X. "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."

"There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling. I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County," Chronister, a Florida Sheriff in Hillsborough County, added.

Chronister did not reveal why he was withdrawing, but his nomination has been criticized by conservatives because of his enforcement of Covid mandates, Just the News reported.

"This sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID panic. He was tapped by Trump to head the DEA," wrote Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. "Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution."

The sheriff arrested a Christian pastor who violated Covid social distancing rules early in the pandemic, writing at the time, “Announcing the arrest of Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, Pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, who intentionally and repeatedly disregarded state and local public health orders, which put his congregation and our community in danger."

Howard-Browne argued that his church offered an “essential service,” according to a KIRO 7 report from March 30, 2020 but Chronister didn't accept that argument. “The safety and well-being of our community must always come first,” he told reporters. However, the sheriff and the pastor appeared to have achieved some sort of detente when they met in May 2020 to “discuss the future. Later that month his church opened its doors again to worshippes and charges against Howard-Browne were dropped.

Chronister was also an enthusiastic advocate of vaccination and told people to “stop listening to social media” and get the jab. “Trying to do everything we can without mandating the vaccine, doing everything we can to encourage people to get vaccinated,” said Chronister. He also had non-violent offenders released from jail, justifying it on the grounds that it would prevent Covid-19 from speading.