President Donald Trump appointed Uttam Dhillon, who formerly served as deputy White House counsel, as acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration July 2, according to Reuters.
Here are three things to know:
1. Mr. Dhillon will replace Robert Patterson who became the agency's acting head in November and announced his retirement last month.
2. Mr. Dhillon has served as director of Department of Homeland Security's Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement under President George W. Bush.
3. At present, the DEA's main focus is addressing the nation's ongoing opioid crisis.
“The work of the Drug Enforcement Administration is critical to fighting this crisis, and President Trump and I are committed to continuing to give it the strong leadership it deserves,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
Former DEA head said in an email to his employees, “realized that the administrator of the DEA needs to decide and address priorities for years into the future — something which has become increasingly challenging in an acting capacity.”
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