Trump says he pulled DEA nominee for 'what he said to my pastors'
Rodney Howard-Browne was among those who prayed over Trump in 2017
President-elect Donald Trump says he personally "pulled" a Florida sheriff whom he picked to run the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in part because of the way the sheriff treated Trump's "pastors" and "other supporters."
Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, first shared his decision to step down Tuesday night, calling the opportunity "the honor of a lifetime."
"Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I've concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration," Chronister stated in an X post.
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Chronister did not provide further details about his reasons for backing out.
Trump later took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to clarify that it was he who decided to pull Chronister from the position, not the other way around.
"He didn't pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters," Trump stated.
Citing unnamed sources, The New York Post reported Thursday that Trump's "forceful hand" led Chronister to remove his name. According to the report, Trump was particularly displeased by Chronister's handling of a situation involving church services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Arresting pastors for trying to keep their churches open is a non-negotiable with the president, and that's what the sheriff was accused of, and the president did not like that," one source told the Post.
The nomination drew sharp backlash from some of Trump's own supporters for actions Chronister took in March 2020, when his office arrested Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, the leader of River at Tampa Bay Church, for hosting in-person church services in defiance of Florida's COVID-19 restrictions.
Chronister ordered the arrest of Howard-Browne, who had openly criticized the lockdown measures and continued to hold large gatherings despite the statewide safer-at-home order. Howard-Browne was charged with unlawful assembly and violating public health emergency rules, but the charges were later dropped.
During a media briefing, the sheriff later said he had no choice but to arrest Howard-Browne because "practicing those beliefs has to be done safely."
"Shame on this pastor, their legal staff, and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job," Chronister said at the time. "That's not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency. We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call."
Howard-Browne and his wife were Evangelical leaders who prayed over Trump at the White House in July 2017. He shared a photo of the meeting with him standing over the president while he lay hands on his back.
"Yesterday I was asked by Pastor Paula White-Cain to pray over our 45th President — what a humbling moment standing in the Oval Office — laying hands and praying for our President," he wrote.
Televangelist Paula White-Cain personally invited Howard-Browne and his wife, according to Vanity Fair. White-Cain was at one point rumored to have led Trump to Christ.
An image shared on social media in September appeared to show a fundraising flyer from White-Cain in which she referred to herself as "President Trump's personal pastor."
CP reached out Thursday to White-Cain for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Chronister is the second Trump nominee to step aside after Matt Gaetz, Trump's first pick to serve as attorney general, also withdrew his name from consideration for a role in the incoming administration.
Gaetz dropped out in November after scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer.
