Pennsylvania Congressman Tom Marino is expected to step down from his seat to take on a new role in the Trump administration. Multiple sources tell CBS News that Marino will head up the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), assuming the informal title of drug czar.
A source familiar with personnel moves in the White House says that Marino is in the final stages of completing his paperwork and an official announcement is forthcoming. When asked for comment, the White House said it had no personnel announcements at this time. Marino’s office had no comment.
Marino, who is serving his third term representing Pennsylvania’s rural 10th congressional district, was appointed to serve on the House’s bipartisan committee combating the opioid epidemic in 2016 after the enactment of two bills he introduced on drug control.
The former prosecutor authored the Transnational Drug Trafficking Act to curb drug trafficking across borders and a more controversial drug enforcement bill that increases collaboration between prescription drug distributors and the Drug Enforcement Agency to combat drug abuse.
Photo of Congressman Tom Marino:
Photo By Marinoforcongress (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
