Numerous GOP Officials Oppose Trump’s DEA Nomination

For the most part, Donald Trump has done a good job with his nominations.

There are a few, however, who have raised some eyebrows.

In addition to Matt Gaetz, RFK Jr., Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth, a name that is getting negative attention is Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to serve as administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Going to be Rough

Gaetz has already withdrawn from consideration, so we no longer have to worry about him.

Democrats are going to fight every name mentioned above, but there will also be a handful of Republicans who will push back and need some convincing for all of those names to pass through.

Chronister, however, may be dead upon arrival.

Sheriff Chronister had ordered the arrest of a local pastor who defied the COVID lockdowns, and that is just not sitting well with many Republicans.

For instance, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) stated, "I’m going to call ‘em like I see ’em. Trump's nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest [of] a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns.”

At the time of the lockdowns, Chronister had posted online, "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.”

The charges were eventually dropped.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is also against the nomination, stating, “We don't need authoritarians who refuse to use discretion and protect the Constitution - no matter which party is in power."

Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist, called Chronister "a woke, BLM-excusing, DEI-enforcing, immigration law-ignoring buffoon.”

Now, I have not yet seen any Republican senators voice opposition, so this could be much ado about nothing in terms of the resistance to Chronister.

This is one nomination I really want to monitor, however, as it will be a good measuring stick in terms of how many Republicans are willing to look the other way to pacify Trump.

My gut tells me that his nomination will be blocked, so I will keep an eye on the confirmation hearings as well as monitor how Trump reacts to these comments that were made.

Keep in mind, some of the people speaking up against Chronister are not exactly Trump allies in the GOP, so he may just dismiss their concerns and roll the dice with the Senate.