Rep. Marino withdraws as Trump’s drug czar nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the Pennsylvania congressman he chose to be the nation’s drug czar is withdrawing from consideration for the job.

Trump’s announcement Tuesday on Twitter follows reports that Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pennsylvania, played a key role in passing a bill that weakened the federal government’s authority to stop companies from distributing opioids.

Trump says Marino “has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration.”

Trump added that “Tom is a fine man and a great congressman.”

Trump had raised the possibility Monday of withdrawing Marino’s nomination after reports by The Washington Post and CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

The Post and CBS’ “60 Minutes” reported Sunday on the 2016 law, which weakened the Drug Enforcement Administration’s authority to stop companies from distributing opioids.

Marino, in his fourth term representing northeastern Pennsylvania, played a key role in the law along with a handful of other Republicans.

Democrats called on Trump to withdraw Marino’s nomination on Monday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had said confirming Marino as the nation’s drug czar would be like “putting the wolf in charge of the henhouse.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, whose home state of West Virginia has been among the hardest-hit by the opioid epidemic, said he was horrified at the accounts of the 2016 law and Marino’s role in it.

Manchin scolded the Obama administration for failing to “sound the alarm on how harmful that bill would be for our efforts to effectively fight the opioid epidemic” that kills an estimated 142 people a day nationwide.

The Post reported Sunday that Marino and other members of Congress, along with the nation’s major drug distributors, prevailed upon the DEA and the Justice Department to agree to an industry-friendly law that undermined efforts to restrict the flow of pain pills that have led to tens of thousands of deaths. President Barack Obama signed the law in April 2016.

The industry worked behind the scenes with lobbyists and key members of Congress, including Marino, pouring more than a million dollars into their election campaigns, the newspaper reported.

A White House commission convened by Trump and led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called on Trump to declare a national emergency to help deal with the growing opioid crisis. An initial report from the commission in July noted that the approximately 142 deaths each day from drug overdoses mean the death toll is “equal to September 11th every three weeks.”

Trump has said he will officially declare the opioid crisis a “national emergency” but so far has not done so. He said Monday he will make the designation next week.