【中美创新时报2024 年 12 月 3 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）唐纳德·特朗普挑选的缉毒局局长查德·克罗尼斯特周二表示，他将撤回提名，成为第二位被当选总统选中在被提名担任需要参议院确认的职位后迅速退出的人。美联社记者MICHELLE L. PRICE对此作了下述报道。
佛罗里达州希尔斯伯勒县最高执法官员克罗尼斯特警长在 X 的一篇帖子中表示，他放弃了这个机会，他称之为“一生的荣誉”。
“在过去几天里，随着这一非常重要的责任的严重性逐渐显现，我得出结论，我必须恭敬地退出考虑，”克罗尼斯特写道。他没有详细说明，特朗普的过渡团队也没有立即回应寻求评论的消息。
克罗尼斯特紧随前共和党众议员马特·盖茨 (Matt Gaetz) 的脚步，后者是特朗普的首选司法部长，他撤回了在政府中担任职位的提名。盖茨因联邦性交易调查而受到审查，这让人怀疑他能否被任命为该国首席联邦执法官。
特朗普选择克罗尼斯特担任缉毒局局长一职，遭到保守派的强烈反对，他们对他在 COVID-19 大流行期间的行为以及他所说的他的办公室“不参与联邦移民执法活动”表示担忧。
2020 年 3 月，克罗尼斯特逮捕了一家大型教堂的牧师，该牧师举行了数百人的礼拜，违反了旨在限制 Covid 病毒传播的居家安全令。
“这位牧师、他们的法律人员和这些工作人员的领导们强迫我们做我们的工作，真可耻。这不是我们在宣布紧急状态期间想做的事情，”克罗尼斯特当时说。“我们希望这将是一个警钟。”
美国众议员托马斯·马西（Thomas Massie，R-Ky）是公开抱怨的人之一，他说克罗尼斯特应该因逮捕而“被取消资格”。
其他人则标记了克罗尼斯特在 2023 年发布的一段关于佛罗里达州移民法的视频中发表的评论，这段视频在特朗普上周末提名他后再次在网上流传。
在视频中，克罗尼斯特称赞了他的社区的“丰富多样性”，并称其为“各行各业的人聚集在一起的地方”。
他说，重要的是要注意他的办公室“不参与联邦移民执法活动。我们不会根据个人的移民身份来针对他们。这是联邦机构的权力。”
特朗普将全面打击移民作为其竞选活动和新政府目标的核心。
美联社驻佛罗里达州劳德代尔堡记者 Adriana Gomez Licon 对本报道亦有贡献。
题图：佛罗里达州希尔斯伯勒县警长查德·克罗尼斯特于 2021 年 8 月 10 日星期二在佛罗里达州里弗维尤的塞萨姆斯小学开学第一天之前与媒体交谈。Chris O’Meara/美联社
附原英文报道：
Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to run the DEA, withdraws name from consideration
By MICHELLE L. PRICE The Associated Press,Updated December 3, 2024
Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff Chad Chronister talks to the media before the first day of school at Sessums Elementary School Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Riverview, Fla.Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation.
Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.”
“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote. He did not elaborate, and Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Chronister follows former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first pick to serve as attorney general, in withdrawing his name for a post in the administration. Gaetz withdrew following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer.
Trump’s pick of Chronister for the DEA job drew backlash from conservatives, who raised concerns over his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his saying that his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities.”
In March 2020, Chronister arrested the pastor of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place aimed at limiting the spread of the Covid virus.
“Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said at the time. “We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call.”
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, was among those airing public complaints, saying Chronister should be “disqualified” for the arrest.
Others flagged comments Chronister made in a video about Florida’s immigration laws that he released in 2023 that circulated again online after Trump named him last weekend.
In the video, Chronister praised the “rich diversity” of his community and called it “a place where people from all walks of life come together.”
He said it was important to note his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities. We do not target individuals based on their immigration status. That’s the authority of federal agencies.”
Trump has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a central focus of his campaign and his aims for his coming administration.
Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida contributed to this report.
