Senior FBI Official Named as New Interim DEA Director

Former U.S. Attorney and senior FBI official Chuck Rosenberg has been appointed as the interim director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced last week.

Rosenberg is replacing Michele Leonhart, who announced her retirement last month in the wake of a sex-party scandal involving DEA agents. An internal investigation revealed that several DEA agents had engaged in “sex parties” with prostitutes paid for by Colombian drug cartels. DEA internal documents related to the misconduct discovered the agency has a history of sexual misconduct, with such behavior dating back to at least 2001.

Leonhart, who has led the agency since 2007, also butted heads with the Obama administration over drug policy. In May 2014, she refused to support a proposed Senate bill to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and opposed the administration’s hands-off approach in the four states that have approved legal regulation of marijuana.

Rosenberg, a veteran of the Justice Department, is set to assume the role of acting administrator on Monday, USA Today reports. He is currently the chief of staff to FBI director James Comey, and would need congressional approval to become the permanent DEA head.

"He has proven himself as an exceptional leader, a skilled problem-solver and a consummate public servant of unshakable integrity," Lynch said. "I can think of no better individual to lead this storied agency."