Senior FBI Official Chuck Rosenberg Chosen to Head DEA

President Obama has chosen former senior Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official Chuck Rosenberg to be the interim director of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The New York Times reports. Rosenberg replaces Michele Leonhart, who announced her retirement last month.

Rosenberg previously served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Texas. For the last year and a half he has served as the chief of staff to FBI Director James Comey.

“As Acting Administrator of the DEA, Chuck will play a vital role in the work of this Administration and this Department of Justice to pursue American priorities, protect American interests, and safeguard our way of life,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement.

Legislators had criticized Leonhart over her handling of reports that DEA agents in Colombia participated in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels. Leonhart opposed moves by states including Colorado and Washington to legalize recreational marijuana. She resisted efforts to reduce penalties for the use and distribution of marijuana.

Leonhart was nominated to lead the DEA in 2010, after she had been the acting administrator for three years. During a speech to law enforcement officials last year, Leonhart reportedly criticized Obama for saying in a New Yorker interview that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol.

Photo credit: Associated Press