Marino positioned for drug czar title

The White House announced that President Trump will nominate Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

A vocal supporter of Trump during the election, Marino had originally declined to take the drug czar position in May, citing an illness in the family. Some in the recovery community are concerned about Marino’s past comments in Congressional hearings about establishing a “hospital-slash-prison” treatment program for nonviolent offenders.

 In 2002, Marino serves as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.