President-elect Donald Trump is tapping a second Hillsborough law enforcement official for a position in his administration.
Trump announced Saturday on the social media site Truth Social that he's nominating Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to be the next administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Sheriff Chad Chronister has served the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and received countless commendations and awards for keeping his community SAFE," Trump wrote.
Chronister replied on the social media site X: “It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President @realDonaldTrump to serve as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation.”
It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President @realDonaldTrump to serve as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation. pic.twitter.com/X5lslYyF1U
— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) December 1, 2024
Chronister has been with the HCSO since 1992, and has served as sheriff since being appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott to succeed David Gee when he retired in 2017.
Chronister was reelected three times — in 2018 and 2020, before running this year without opposition.
Chronister has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in criminology from St. Leo University, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
According to his biography on the Sheriff's Office page, Chronister is Co-Chairman of the Regional Domestic Security Task Force for Region IV Tampa Bay, Council Member of the Florida Attorney General’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking and former Chairman of the Criminal Justice Sub-Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Hillsborough County Public Safety Coordinating Council, and Vice-Chairman of the Hillsborough County Public Schools Citizen Oversight Committee. He was also appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council.
Chronister is married to Nikki DeBartolo, daughter of former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
DeBartolo Jr. was pardoned in 2020 by Trump after he pleaded guilty in 1998 for failing to report a felony.
DeBartolo Jr. received two years of probation and a $1 million fine in return for testifying against former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who demanded $400,000 from DeBartolo Jr. for a riverboat casino license. DeBartolo Jr. was suspended by the NFL for a year before he turned control of the team over to his sister, Denise York.
Trump previously nominated former Florida Attorney General and Hillsborough County prosecutor Pam Bondi to serve as U.S. attorney general.
His first nominee, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, dropped out amid doubts that the Senate would confirm him. Questions were raised over sex trafficking and drug use allegations that Gaetz has denied.
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