Chris Christie appointed by Trump to leadership role in fighting opioid epidemic


President Donald Trump has tapped Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., for a senior leadership role in fighting the opioid crisisin America.

He will chair a special commission on the matter. The panel will fall under the new White House Office of American Innovation, rolled out by the administration on Monday.

"As a former leader in the private sector, I am proud to officially announce the White House Office of American Innovation, which will develop innovative solutions to many problems our country faces," Trump said in a statement. "One of the primary reasons I ran for president was the need for new thinking and real change."

The appointment comes on the same day as former Christie associate Bill Baroni was sentenced to two years in prison for the Bridgegate scandal. Christie has denied any links to the matter, and local prosecutors announced in January he will not be charged in the case.

Christie told "Good Morning America" the idea behind the administration's new approach to the anti-addiction fight will be to assist the Center for Disease Control.

"They do need the help, and this White House is going to step up to help them," the governor said.

Heading up the supervising Office of American Innovation, however, is White House aide Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. He and Christie have history. When Christie served as New Jersey's U.S. Attorney more than a decade ago, he helped put Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, in prison for financial crimes.

Both have denied any lingering animus.

"Listen, that stuff is ancient history. It's over 12 years ago. And Jared and I have worked incredibly well on this issue and, by the way, on a whole bunch of other issues during the campaign," Christie said Wednesday.

Kushner told Forbes in November: "Six months ago, Gov. Christie and I decided this election was much bigger than any differences we may have had in the past, and we worked very well together."

A centerpiece of Christie's long-shot campaign was the drug crisis, especially in the early primary state of New Hampshire, which has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, where the relatively moderate Northeastern politician banked much of his efforts.

In a moment that was widely viewed as the highlight of his campaign, a video clip showed Christie in a townhall meeting emotionally describing the death of a law school friend, who succumbed to addiction.

"When I sat there as the governor of New Jersey at his funeral, and looked across the pew at his three daughters, sobbing because their dad is gone — there but before the grace of God go I," he said. "It can happen to anyone. And so we need to start treating people in this country."

Additionally, he has dedicated his last year as governor to tackling "the crisis of drug addiction." Critics of Christie, however, have noted his past as a drug warrior, his support for many of the laws the consequences of which he later critiqued, and his continued opposition to legalization.

Copyright 2017 U.S. News & World Report

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