President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning announced that Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) withdrew his name from consideration to be Trump’s drug czar following a report from the Washington Post and CBS News revealing that Marino pushed legislation that made it harder for the DEA to stop shipments of opioids.
Rep.Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2017
Following the weekend report, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Monday urged Trump to withdraw Marino as the nominee to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, citing the reporting from the Washington Post and CBS News. Manchin said that the revelation “calls into question Congressman Marino’s ability” to serve as the drug czar.
Trump told reporters Monday afternoon that he would look into the report on Marino’s role in pushing the legislation. Manchin quickly thanked Trump after the President announced that Marino withdrew from consideration.
.@realDonaldTrump – thanks for recognizing we need a drug czar who has seen the devastating effects of the problem. https://t.co/hTlkClveN5
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 17, 2017
An investigation by the Washington Post and CBS News revealed that Marino was the leading advocate for a bill passed in April 2016 that was backed by the pharmaceutical industry. The law makes it nearly impossible for the DEA to freeze shipments of harmful medications like opioids from companies with suspicious sales.