President Trump’s nominee to be the nation’s next drug czar shared publicly for the first time on Thursday that his family has been personally affected by the opioid epidemic.
Jim Carroll, who has been nominated as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and is currently serving as its acting director, did not disclose who the family member was. He was speaking at the White House’s opioid summit and noted that data show one in seven members of the public have a family member, friend or neighbor that has been impacted by the opioid crisis, which involves addiction and overdose deaths from drugs like prescription painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl.
“For the first time publicly I want to tell you that I am that one in seven, that I have a family member who has been touched by this,” Carroll said. “Last year I was in the rehab center with my family member holding that person’s hand, helping them through this and trying to be that support system. And so it’s a great honor for me to take this on. This is a professional and a personal challenge for me, for the president and every member of this administration.”
Carroll was previously deputy chief of staff in the White House for three months.
