Trump to tap GOP Rep. Tom Marino as ‘drug czar’: report

President Trump plans to tap Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) as his drug czar, according to a CBS News report on Tuesday.

Marino would head the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

He is finishing up his paperwork and an official announcement is expected shortly thereafter, a person familiar with the personnel matter told CBS. 

{mosads}The White House told CBS it had no announcements at this time. Marino’s office also declined CBS’s request to comment.

Marino worked on a committee that focused on combating the 2016 opioid epidemic.

The third-term congressman in the last Congress offered the Transnational Drug Trafficking Act, which aimed to further restrict cross-border drug trafficking. It also controversially proposed greater collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Agency and prescription drug companies in the fight against opioid abuse.

While President Obama signed Marino’s bill last spring, some critics claimed it could hurt the DEA’s efforts to prosecute drug distributors.

President Trump chose Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) to chair a federal drug commission that aims to fight opioid addiction, abuse and overdose. 

An executive order signed by Trump last month says the ONDCP will work with the commission.