Trump’s drug tsar nominee withdraws, after report he sabotaged battle against flood of opioids
Tom Marino spearheaded a bill that weakened federal efforts to crack down on prescription drugs made by big pharmaceutical firms
The US lawmaker who was President Donald Trump’s pick for drug tsar withdrew on Tuesday after a report he spearheaded a bill that hurt the government’s ability to crack down on opioid makers flooding the market with the addictive painkillers.
Trump had pegged Representative Tom Marino, a Republican from Pennsylvania, to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the administration faces an epidemic of opioid overdoses that is killing tens of thousands of Americans annually. The position required Senate confirmation.
Trump wrote on Twitter: “Rep Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug tsar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!”
Marino said in a statement he had decided to quit the hiring process to “remove the distraction my nomination has created to the utterly vital mission of this premier agency.”