Sen. Manchin calls on Trump to withdraw Rep. Marino's drug czar nomination
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Monday called for the White House to withdraw the nomination of Rep. Tom Marino to lead the National Drug Control Policy Office.
The demand comes after The Washington Post reported the involvement of Marino, R-Penn., in passing a bill weakening the Drug Enforcement Administration’s authority to stop companies from distributing opioids. His push for that legislation leaves him unfit to serve as the head of the ONDCP, a crucial office in the national effort to stop opioid abuse, Manchin said in the letter.
“I was horrified when I read the Washington Post piece and cannot believe the last administration did not sound the alarm on how harmful that bill would be for our efforts to effectively fight the opioid epidemic,” Manchin said in the letter.
The Post reported that under Marino’s legislation, one company shipped 11 million doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone to a small country with just 25,000 people in Mingo County, W.Va. As the number of pills in Manchin’s state increased, so did the death toll in Mingo County and the rest of the state, the letter reads.
The head of the ONDCP, often called America’s drug czar, is a key voice in helping to push and implement strategies to prevent drug abuse, stop drug trafficking and promote access to substance use disorder treatment.
“His advocacy for this legislation demonstrates that Congressman Marino either does not fully understand the scope and devastation of this epidemic or ties to industry overrode those concerns,” Manchin wrote. “Either option leaves him unfit to serve as the head of the ONDCP.”
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