Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, Florida, has decided to withdraw his name from consideration as a candidate for the position of head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under President-elect Trump's administration.

"To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime," Chronister wrote in a post 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," Chronister continued.

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… pic.twitter.com/bvNF8m9Bh4

— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) December 3, 2024

"Huge win for liberty"

Anthony Sabatini, the District 1 County Commissioner of Lake County, referred to the withdrawal of Chronister as a "huge win for liberty."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) explained why he and others were enthusiastic about the sheriff's decision to decline, as The Washington Examiner 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. Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution," Massie in a post on X followikng the announcement.

Following Chronister's withdrawal, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, (R-Okla.) , defended the sheriff during an interview:

"What disqualifies somebody? We all make mistakes throughout life, right? I haven't talked any details on that yet. But as far as someone making a mistake in their past, give us an example of anybody that hasn't made a mistake in the past," Mullin said.

Previous Backlash

When Chronister arrested a preacher for breaking COVID standards, he was met with criticism from a number of conservative figures.

Rodney Howard-Browne was taken into custody early on in the the COVID-19 pandemic when assembly was being strongly discouraged.

"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," Chronister noted in a tweet at the time.

"We're hoping that this serves as a deterrent," Chronister said during a 2020 news conference.

"Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this church for forcing us to do our job. That's not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency."