D’Esposito, a first-term Republican congressman, just lost reelection to his Long-Island area seat to Democrat Laura Gillen.
Representative Anthony D’Esposito, a first-term Republican congressman who just lost reelection to his Long-Island area seat to Democrat Laura Gillen, is angling to be Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.
A former Hempstead councilman and police detective who served for more than a decade in the NYPD, D’Esposito says in an exclusive interview with National Review that he’s “done the work that the DEA does” and that he has a “unique ability to bridge the gap between the DEA and the Hill.” He is also one of the few freshmen with a gavel, serving as chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology.
D’Esposito is making calls to allies in Trump’s orbit amid his pitch the same week the president elect’s first pick for the job, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister of Florida, withdrew from consideration. The outgoing New York congressman tells National Review he has not spoken directly with the president elect about the position and acknowledged that Trump has “plenty of qualified candidates that are probably looking for a similar position.”
But D’Esposito believes that his experience in Congress and law enforcement make him a strong fit for the role.
“I’ve removed illegal narcotics from the streets,” he said in an interview. “I’ve taken drug traffickers and put them behind bars. I’ve taken hundreds of illegal firearms from the streets and dismantled gangs,” he says in an interview.
This experience, he said, would help him “garner the support of the rank-and-file of those investigators in the DEA having someone lead them who himself conducted investigations for much of his adult life.”
A Trump transition spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether D’Esposito is on the shortlist for the position.
The outgoing congressman tells NR that a number of law enforcement unions across New York began reaching out to him last night urging him to make a play for the position following news that Chronister had withdrawn from consideration. That list includes the Nassau County Detectives Association, which threw its public support behind his bid earlier today.
The New York Post reports that Trump used a “forceful hand” to pressure Chronister to back out after learning that the sheriff had arrested Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne for holding church services during the COVID—19 lockdown, amid other concerns.
If D’Esposito gets the job, that would mark yet another member of the U.S. House in a high-profile White House role for the incoming administration, though his loss to Gillen means that making the switch to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wouldn’t affect the House GOP’s slim margin.
The president elect has tapped several other House members for high-profile roles in his administration, including Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz (R., Fla.) for national security adviser, and outgoing Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R., Ore.).for Labor Secretary. Former Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) was Trump’s first pick for attorney general but withdrew from consideration amid pushback from senators.