Trump to nominate Carroll as drug czar

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has tapped deputy White House chief of staff Jim Carroll to serve as the administration’s next drug czar.

Carroll’s position as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will make him the most public face of the administration’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic — an effort critics say hasn’t gone nearly far enough.

Carroll does not appear to have any public health experience. He worked for the Ford Motor Company before joining the administration and also worked for the Justice and Treasury departments.

But the White House said that after law school, Carroll spent five years as the assistant commonwealth attorney for Fairfax, Virginia, where the majority of the cases were drug-related and he worked directly with those affected by drug abuse.

He also worked with attorneys facing substanceabuse issues at the Virginia State Bar.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration has “full confidence in Jim to lead ONDCP to make significant strides in combating the opioids crisis, reducing drug use, and co-ordinating U.S. drug policy.”

Meanwhile, two White House staffers have departed the Trump administration in the wake of abuse allegations.

Speechwriter David Sorensen resigned on Friday after staff secretary Rob Porter, one of the president’s closest aides, resigned Wednesday.