A top senator is asking Trump to withdraw his recommendation for drug czar after a '60 Minutes'-Washington Post investigation
The request came a day after a joint investigation from the Washington Post and CBS' "60 Minutes," which concluded that Congress and the drug industry fueled the opioid crisis.
One of the most instrumental people, the investigation found, was Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, a Republican whom Trump nominated to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position commonly referred to as the nation's "drug czar."
Specifically, Marino introduced a bill in 2014 that made it harder for the Drug Enforcement Administration to enforce laws that would keep laws from being diverted. A version of the bill became law in 2016.
The Post called it "the crowning achievement of a multifaceted campaign by the drug industry to weaken aggressive DEA enforcement efforts against drug distribution companies that were supplying corrupt doctors and pharmacists who peddled narcotics to the black market."
Manchin said the Post's report led him to question Marino's ability to act as drug czar.
"Congressman Marino no longer has my trust or that of the public that he will aggressively pursue the fight against opioid abuse," Manchin said in the letter.