President Donald Trump, who was asked by Senator Ben Sasse, (R-Neb.), if he was recanting his Oath of Office, will have to find another person to nominate as the nation's Drug Czar. Tom Marino, whose nomination as Drug Czar was challenged pointedly by leading Democrats in Congress, withdrew his name from consideration for confirmation as America's next Drug Czar on Tuesday amid mounting controversy. Although he tweeted that Marino is a "good man," Trump fell short of endorsing Marino after he withdrew his name from consideration.

A softening of drug laws

Marino's nomination was challenged by leading Democrats in Congress because of his past support of legislation that softened drug laws and made it easier for drug suppliers to provide opioids to pharmacists and doctors. Marino was one of the leading advocates of the controversial legislation that was passed, despite objections from Senator Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.) and others on Capitol Hill.

Manchin stated that Marino would become the Drug Czar "over" his "dead body." Manchin suggested that perhaps Marino had little to no understanding of the "scope and devastation" of the drug crisis. Manchin even suggested the possibility that Marino allowed his "ties" to the drug industry to "override" his personal concerns over the legislation, if he had any.

Sold out

To put it another way, Manchin was suggesting that perhaps Marino had sold out to the opioid manufacturers and distributors when supporting the controversial legislation. The implications of this can be quite serious. If there ever could be any indication that the person in charge of enforcing the drug laws of the nation could be "on the take," so to speak, the ramifications could be devastating to the nation's efforts to reduce the nation's compelling drug addiction problem.

According to the Opioid Commission's August 2017 report, over 142 million Americans are addicted to opioids. As Manchin sees it, the opioid problem already was compelling enough to warrant significant concern before the controversial legislation was passed. Consequently, Manchin saw the nomination of Marino as completely unacceptable under any circumstances.

In the end, Manchin prevailed with Marino's withdrawal of his name from consideration for confirmation as America's top drug cop.

'Stop enabling Trump'

In the meantime, conservative talk show host Charles Sykes has warned the GOP to "stop enabling Trump" by giving him a pass when he makes bizarre statements or tweets, and accusatory, controversial, insulting remarks. As Sykes sees it, such behavior on the part of the president is a distraction to the cause of conservatism and calls into question the motives of sincere people who are advocating the things that they truly believe.
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