In this December 15, 2016, photo, US Representatives Tom Marino, left, and Scott Perry, right, watch as President-elect Donald Trump departs a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Photo: AP
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https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115873/trumps-drug-tsar-nominee-withdraws-after-report-he United States & Canada
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
Representative Tom Marino came under scrutiny after a news investigation found the lawmaker helped steer legislation that made it harder for the government to take some enforcement actions against giant drug companies. Photo: TNS
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 worked as a federal prosecutor under Republican former President George W. Bush, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and served on Trump’s transition team after the Republican president was elected last November.
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.”
He defended his role in helping pass the bill that was criticised for weakening attempts to rein in opioid use. He said the legislation would help create “a balanced solution for ensuring those who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do so, while also empowering the Drug Enforcement Administration to enforce the law and prevent the sale and abuse of prescription drugs.”
Marino said he had been the target of “unfair reporting” and false allegations by a former DEA employee, who he did not name.
The Washington Post and the CBS programme 60 Minutes published an investigation on Sunday that showed Marino had worked to weaken federal efforts to slow the flow of opioid drugs made by big pharmaceutical firms. 
Oxycodone pills have been at the heart of a prescription opioid epidemic in the US. Photo: Handout
The legislation championed by Marino, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year by Democratic President Barack Obama, was the product of a drug industry quest to weaken the DEA’s authority to stem the flow of painkillers to the black market, according to the report.
The law made it almost impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotics shipments, according to government documents cited by the Post.
Trump has been criticised for his response to the opioid epidemic. He has yet to declare it a national emergency as he pledged to do on August 10 following a recommendation by a presidential commission.
Asked about that at a news conference on Monday, Trump said he would make the declaration next week. Such a move would boost funding for various forms of treatment and give the government more flexibility in taking steps to expedite action.
Nine months into his presidency, Trump has not named a chief for the Drug Enforcement Administration, currently headed by an acting administrator.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 US deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available. Estimates show the death rate has continued rising.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Marino’s withdrawal “the right decision,” but added that “the fact that he was nominated in the first place is further evidence that when it comes to the opioid crisis, the Trump administration talks the talk, but refuses to walk the walk.”