Trump picks Virginia official Terry Cole to lead the DEA, vows to 'save lives' in new administration

President Donald Trump has nominated a Virginia authorities authoritative to pb the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) successful his caller administration.

In a Truth Social station connected Tuesday, Trump wrote that helium nominated Terry Cole to go the adjacent head of the DEA. Cole is presently the caput of nationalist information and homeland information for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

According to the Virginia government's website, Cole was antecedently the main of unit and enforcement serviceman astatine the DEA's Department of Justice Special Operations Division, and besides served arsenic the DEA's typical to the National Security Council. The website besides notes that Cole worked for the DEA for 22 years, though Trump wrote that helium was employed by the DEA for 21 years.

In a societal media post, Trump said that helium was "pleased" to denote Cole, who volition request to beryllium confirmed by the U.S. Senate, arsenic his nominee.

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"Terry is simply a DEA Veteran of 21 years, with tours successful Colombia, Afghanistan, and Mexico City, who presently serves arsenic Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, starring 11 State Public Safety Agencies, with much than 19,000 employees," Trump's station read.

Trump besides added that Cole holds a grade from the Rochester Institute of Technology, arsenic good arsenic certificates from the University of Virginia and the University of Notre Dame.

"Together, we volition prevention lives, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Congratulations Terry!" the president's station concluded.

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Trump primitively named Florida sheriff Chad Chronister arsenic his archetypal prime to pb the DEA, but Chronister, who serves arsenic the sheriff of Hillsborough County, aboriginal withdrew his sanction from information successful December.

"To person been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to service arsenic Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the grant of a lifetime," Chronister wrote successful a station connected X astatine the time.

"Over the past respective days, arsenic the gravity of this precise important work acceptable in, I’ve concluded that I indispensable respectfully retreat from consideration. There is much enactment to beryllium done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a batch of initiatives I americium committed to fulfilling."

The DEA is expected to enactment with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fulfill Trump's run promises of restoring information astatine the Southern border. At the extremity of January, national agents conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 amerciable immigrants accused of committing crimes successful the U.S.

Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.