U.S. appoints top FBI official to head DEA

The Justice Department named a FBI veteran and former U.S. attorney to be the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration Wednesday. Chuck Rosenberg, the FBI director’s chief of staff, will replace Michele Leonhart as the acting DEA administrator.

Leonhart retired from her position in April after receiving intense criticism during a Capitol Hill hearing, according to Washington Post. The hearing involved allegations that some of her agents in Colombia were attending sex parties with prostitutes who were reportedly hired by local drug cartels overseas.

The recent allegations reported by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz resulted in a department review of the involved agents’ security clearances. A warning stating that soliciting prostitutes at any time is a policy violation was also sent. Leonhart left after eight years of holding the position.

Rosenberg has worked with FBI Director James B. Comey over the past year and a half on criminal investigative issues, management issues, counterterrorism and more. Comey called Rosenberg “one of the finest people public servants” he has ever known. He added that Rosenberg would be “sorely missed” at the FBI.

Rosenberg has a long history in the Justice Department. The department hired him right out of law school at the University of Virginia. He has served several positions such as counselor to the attorney general, prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia and trial attorney for the tax division. He also served as the U.S. attorney of the Southern District of Texas for one year and as the U.S. attorney in Virginia for two years.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said that Rosenberg has earned his colleagues praise and trust throughout his career. Lynch also claimed that Rosenberg is an “exceptional leader” and a “consummate public servant of unshakeable integrity.”

“I can think of no better individual to lead this storied agency,” Lynch said. Rosenberg is expected to take over on Monday.

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