Officials: DEA Chief Set To Resign From Agency

FILE - In this April 12, 2013 file photo, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michelle Leonhart listens while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House is declining to give a vote of c... FILE - In this April 12, 2013 file photo, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michelle Leonhart listens while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House is declining to give a vote of confidence to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration amid allegations that agents attended sex parties with prostitutes while stationed overseas. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) MORE LESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Obama administration official says the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to resign soon.

Michele Leonhart is a career drug agent who has led the agency since 2007 and is the second woman to hold the job.

She has faced mounting pressure from lawmakers who have questioned her competence in the wake of a scathing government watchdog report detailing allegations that agents attended sex parties with prostitutes.

She was widely criticized for her response to the report and lawmakers said she was “woefully unable to change” the culture of the agency.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak on the record before any formal announcement.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to comment Tuesday, but said the administration had serious concerns about the inspector general’s report.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. I’d rather her be removed because of her outdated stance on legal marijuana, but I suspect she’s stepping down not because of anything she did, but because the GOP will just draw out the “scandal” and hearings for the next 18 months. As an aside, prostitution is legal in Columbia so the fact that they were prostitutes should be a moot point in my view.

  2. Can we just retire that whole agency?

  3. Given her vocal opposition to legalization of pot, and openly criticized President Barack Obama’s stance on pot at a meeting of the National Sheriffs’ Association, all I have to say is:

    Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

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