Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister withdraws from consideration to head the DEA

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced on Tuesday afternoon that he is withdrawing from consideration to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, a position to which President-elect Donald Trump announced he was nominating him on Saturday night.

“To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime,” Chronister, whose jurisdiction includes Tampa, 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.”

His announcement came one day after the Phoenix reported opposition to his nomination by conservatives, still angry about his decision in 2020 to arrest a Hillsborough County pastor after he violated a COVID lockdown.

Chronister ended up sharing a meal with that pastor, Rodney Howard-Brown, just a few months later after being blasted by some Republicans for the arrest. The case was dropped a few months later.

Kentucky Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, one of those conservatives who expressed opposition to Chronister’s nomination over the weekend regarding his arrest of Howard-Brown, said on X after Chronister announced that he was withdrawing from consideration that it was a wise move.

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

Chronister has served as Hillsborough sheriff since 2017, after he was appointed to the position by then Gov. Rick Scott to succeed David Gee. He won election in 2018, 2020, and again earlier this year without challenge from either a Republican in the primary or a Democrat in the general election.

His nomination had been praised by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said Monday that when he removed Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren from office in 2022, “nobody supported us more strongly than Sheriff Chad Chronister. And when the deposed Soros prosecutor ran to reclaim the office this year, Sheriff Chronister led the opposition to that candidacy and helped ensure the election of tough-on-crime prosecutor Suzy Lopez. Hillsborough County is safer as a result. I congratulate Chad on his nomination and look forward to him taking on the drug cartels on behalf of the American people.”

This is Trump’s second administration pick to withdraw from consideration. His first choice for for attorney general, former Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, dropped out of contention amid questions about whether he could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate,

This story has been updated.