'I pulled him out': Trump pushes back on DEA pick saying he withdrew
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had pulled his pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency despite Hillsborough County, Florida, Sheriff Chad Chronister saying the day before he was withdrawing from consideration.
Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social platform that Chronister "didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters," taking offense to a Wall Street Journal headline that called the move "a setback."
Although Trump touted Chronister and said he would work to "stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs," in announcing his selection, there was pushback against Chronister from conservatives for his enforcement of COVID-19 lockdowns during the pandemic. Many prominent conservatives criticized Chronister for arresting a pastor who defied lockdown orders and held a service during the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Chronister announced he was withdrawing from the position, which needs Senate approval, saying in a post on X that there was "more work to be done for the citizens" of his county.
"To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. 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," he said in his post.
The sheriff did not mention the conservative backlash, but many of those who opposed Trump's selection immediately applauded his decision to withdraw.
"Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., posted on X on Tuesday.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
