{"id":44799,"date":"2017-09-27T05:13:03","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T05:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=44799"},"modified":"2017-09-27T05:14:06","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T05:14:06","slug":"dea-administrator-plans-to-step-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/politics\/dea-administrator-plans-to-step-down.html","title":{"rendered":"DEA administrator plans to step down"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEA administrator plans to step down<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

DEA administrator plans to step down:- Acting Drug Enforcement Administration head Chuck Rosenberg, a veteran attorney and law enforcement official who has found himself at odds with the Trump administration in recent months, told staff members Tuesday he is planning to step down from his post in less than a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rosenberg, an Obama administration holdover, said he would resign as acting administrator on Oct. 1. In an email to his staff, Rosenberg said he was proud to have led the \u201cremarkable agency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe neighborhoods in which we live are better for your commitment to the rule of law, dedication to the cause of justice, and perseverance in the face of adversity,\u201d he wrote. \u201cYou will continue to do great things. I will continue to root for you, now from the sidelines.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His departure is not completely surprising; President Trump has always been expected to nominate someone of his own choosing to lead the nation\u2019s premier agency on narcotics enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rosenberg, who had been running the agency in an acting capacity since 2015, had earned a reputation as someone willing to put himself at odds with his bosses in the White House and the Justice Department.<\/span><\/p>\n

A former U.S. attorney and senior counselor to then-FBI Director James B. Comey, Rosenberg garnered attention in July when he wrote an email to DEA personnel rejecting Trump\u2019s comments suggesting criminal suspects might be treated roughly when being put into police vehicles. \u201cWe have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong,\u2019\u2019 he wrote in the email.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear who would replace Rosenberg, although people with knowledge of internal discussions said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, the head of the New Jersey State Police, was thought to be a leading contender. A state police spokesman declined to comment. Other s have also been discussed, according to people familiar with the deliberations.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to two officials familiar with the matter, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein had previously asked Rosenberg if he would be interested in serving as the presidentially appointed head of the DEA, and Rosenberg declined. Because Rosenberg was considered a career Justice Department employee, one of the officials said, Rosenstein then asked if he would be interested in another Justice Department job, and Rosenberg said he would not.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, and a White House spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment. Some at the DEA expressed surprise at how suddenly Rosenberg would be leaving his post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whoever Trump nominates will inherit primary responsibility for handling the DEA\u2019s response to the opioid crisis, along with thorny issues involving marijuana enforcement and research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rosenberg also has been at loggerheads with Justice Department leaders over marijuana research. The department, according to officials, has effectively blocked the DEA from taking action on more than two dozen requests to grow marijuana to use in research \u2014 to the dismay of Rosenberg and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a hard line against marijuana and is generally opposed to easing restrictions on the drug. Rosenberg and Sessions also have different views on the Central American gang MS-13. Sessions has called combatting the gang a major priority for federal law enforcement, while DEA officials have cautioned that other gangs \u2014 such as Mexican drug cartels \u2014 are far more dangerous when it comes to distributing and selling narcotics because of their financing and organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuentes is a career law enforcement officer who has led the New Jersey State Police since 2003. He harshly criticized the Obama administration for striking a deal with Cuba to restore diplomatic relations with that country without addressing the question of long-sought fugitives, including one who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe approach the next presidential administration with a renewed sense of optimism and moral superiority that justice will prevail,\u2019\u2019 Fuentes said in a statement in January.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/dea-administrator-plans-to-step-down\/2017\/09\/26\/c89d7424-a2fc-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?utm_term=.5b8fe1909d88<\/span><\/p>\n

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