TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister was recently tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the newest administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Hillsborough County's top cop has served with the agency for 32 years and was appointed as sheriff in 2017 by then-Gov. Rick Scott when the former sheriff retired unexpectedly. Chronister, 56, was reelected twice, according to the sheriff's office's website.
The website highlights his numerous awards and involvements including being a co-chair of a security task force, a council member of a statewide council on human trafficking and part of the statewide drug policy advisory council, among many more.
Chronister, a Pennsylvania native, was added to the list of Florida Republicans who were picked by Trump for his cabinet, including Pam Bondi who was the state's former attorney general.
"As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "Congratulations to Chad, his wife Nikki, and two wonderful sons!"
“It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation," Chronister said in a statement.
Who is Chad Chronister's wife?
Chronister is married to Nikki DeBartolo, an author and philanthropist who is the daughter of Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
Her father was a former owner of the San Francisco 49ers but was suspended for a year by the NFL and fined $1 million after he pleaded guilty to gambling fraud.
DeBartolo Jr. paid the former Louisiana governor in exchange for a riverboat gambling license. He was pardoned by Trump in 2020, and Chronister attended the ceremony.
DeBartolo is the executive vice president of DeBartolo Holdings and the DeBartolo Family Foundation.
"Nikki has made it her mission to give back to her community in every way possible, from supporting local grassroots movements to national charities," according to the foundation's website.
The two met when Chronister was hired as part of a security detail for her family following the felony case, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
They came from very different backgrounds with the sheriff previously working as a hotel bellman, unloading UPS trucks and digging ditches before going into police work. DeBartolo was "thrown into the limelight at a young age" because of her father's role with the San Francisco football team, according to the about page on her book website.
