On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Hillsborough, Florida County Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration. No one is entirely sure how Sheriff Chronister came onto the radar. There are a lot of Florida graduates appearing in Trump 2.0, and of course Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi began her political career as a Hillsborough County prosecutor.
This is the announcement.
🚨BREAKING: Trump just appointed Sheriff Chad Chronister as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). pic.twitter.com/2quKTs0apl
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) November 30, 2024
In the icy delicate of The Morning After, many things emerge that suggest that Sheriff Chronister, regardless of his competency as a law enforcement officer, may not be aligned with President Trump’s vision for the federal government.
Pride Month Booster
The candidate for DEA Administrator celebrates Pride Month.
pic.twitter.com/4Jgdbvwmxf— DeSantis Appreciation Society (@KickboxerEsq) December 1, 2024
“The most democratic of all Republicans”
“The right has gone far too far to the right for me,” he says. “So where does that leave a lot of Republicans – a lot of people?” – Chad Chronister
This is the next DEA boss. A never-trumping Covidian wokester. https://t.co/6RRwEteB9S
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) December 1, 2024
He believes Republicans are too far to the right.
When I ask him about all of this, Chronister says he is “the most democratic of all Republicans,” a “mixture of both parties,” fiscally conservative, social democrat. He was actually a Democrat until people convinced him that you should have the same party affiliation as the sheriff you work for. He doesn’t consider the office to be partisan anyway.
Democratic donor
Eight reasons to think twice about voting for Chad Chronister for sheriff
1). Chronister is a flippant opportunist. The former Democrat is running again as a Republican, but his background of supporters shows he is still a Democrat at heart. Chronister has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, including $15,000 to Barack Obama as a presidential candidate, and thousands to various partisan Democrats, including Congressman Charlie Crist, Mayor Jane Castor and Congresswoman Kathy Castor. Chronister has also donated at least $5,000 to the Democratic National Committee. In miniature, for someone with an “R” after his name, he looks strangely like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Supporting DEI
The Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office’s recruiting efforts focus on diversity
Maj. Alan Hill, who leads the HCSO’s District II patrol division, addressed the agency’s growing need for more dedicated men and women at a Seffner Chamber of Commerce luncheon earlier this year, noting that the agency is recruiting more minorities, Wants to hire women and more people from Hillsborough County.
“We have a lot of openings now,” Hill said. “Most of them are nearing retirement because the Sheriff’s Office grew significantly in the late ’70s and early ’80s. It has grown by leaps and bounds and these individuals are starting to reach retirement age.”
Lozada says the void left by retirees is now being filled by a younger, increasingly diverse group of African Americans, Hispanics, women and military veterans. Currently, 17 percent of all HCSO employees are African American, another 17 percent are Hispanic, 2 percent are Asian and 34 percent are female.
Last year, HCSO held its first Women in Law Enforcement Job Fair to encourage women to join the male-dominated sheriff’s office. More than 250 women took part in the event.
“Law enforcement is a profession in which women excel,” Hill said. “I know it first hand. When I started in this business, I was trained by one.”
Supports the confiscation of Red Flag weapons
How Florida Used the Red Flag Law to Confiscate Thousands of Guns
The bill has mighty support from three local sheriffs, particularly all Republicans.
Chronister believes this has already prevented something terrible.
“You can never measure what you prevented,” he said. “Is it working? It absolutely is.”
Employees punished for lack of COVID vaccination
“I put out a policy a while ago that if you’re unvaccinated and you have to quarantine or get sick, you have to use your own accrued time. If you’re vaccinated and you get sick, the sheriff’s office will cover your time off,” Chad Chronister said. https://t.co/R3XMV4Qmwo
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) December 1, 2024
Pastor arrested for conducting church service during lockdown
Perhaps the icing on the cake of this mass of flaming progressivism is his ordering the arrest of a pastor who held services during the COVID lockdown period (What the Holy Heck? A Florida Pastor is Arrested for Holding Services, but He Claimed His Machines Shoot Viruses – RedState).
The “whole story” is that Democratic prosecutor Andrew Warren (Warren is a Soros-funded prosecutor) removed from office by Rick DeSantis) issued the arrest warrant for detaining services. He allegedly warned the priest several times before authorizing his arrest. Governor DeSantis stepped in and lifted the ban on religious services.
Refused to stop BLM rioters
During the George Floyd riots of May 31, 2020, he called on his deputies to resign and several buildings were burned. Business places were burned and the Walmart on Fowler in Tampa was completely looted.https://t.co/n81YECFnVC
— Scott84HendersonFL1776 (@SangerEatbabies) December 1, 2024
This refusal extended to the attack at the Hillsborough County Jail.
At the height of the Black Lives Matter riots, anarchists gathered at the Hillsborough County Jail on Orient Road and began tearing down the gate at the jail’s Sally Port, where prisoners are brought into the facility. Prison guards were ordered to stand down as they watched rioters destroy public property. None of the anarchists were arrested. A detention officer at the prison told me: “It was ridiculous that we weren’t allowed to do anything and no one was arrested, and that deeply affected morale.”
Soft on immigration
Hillsborough County Sheriff Releases Message Ahead of Florida’s Newest Immigration Law | WFLA
A tough immigration law, Senate Bill 1718, went into effect on July 1, 2023. Chronister doesn’t seem to have had much interest in this.
“We do not target individuals based on their immigration status – that is the responsibility of federal authorities. Our goal is to build trust and foster strong partnerships with all residents regardless of their background,” said Chronister.
It’s a message that provides some relief to people concerned about the novel immigration law.
“It’s a positive thing for the community that the sheriff is coming out and saying he’s not going to enforce this law,” said Ana Lamb, a Hispanic community activist.
Conclusion
If this is the guy President Trump wants to lead the DEA, it is his right to nominate him. We are not obligated to turn a blind eye to a man whose record looks very similar to the people we want to get out of the federal government. I hope President Trump reconsiders this ill-advised nomination, but if he doesn’t, I hope there are at least four Republican senators who will do what he won’t do.
