WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is vowing to step up efforts to combat the nation's opioid addiction crisis, and he's tapped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead the fight.
RELATED ARTICLE
http://www.arkansas…">Two Christie aides get prison time
Trump convened an emotional round-table meeting Wednesday with Christie, members of his Cabinet, law enforcement chiefs, recovering addicts and advocates. It was the first public event tied to the launch of a new addiction commission that Christie, a longtime Trump friend and former rival, will head.
Trump listened as Vanessa Vitolo and AJ Solomon, two recovering addicts from New Jersey, described their battles with substance abuse. Both became hooked on prescription painkillers and quickly moved on to heroin.
Trump also heard from a mother whose son died from an overdose after a long battle with addiction. Her son, Trump told the mother, hadn't died in vain.
[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 100 days]
"We want to help those who have become so badly addicted. Drug abuse has become a crippling problem throughout the United States," said Trump, citing statistics that show drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the country. "This is a total epidemic, and I think it's probably, almost untalked about compared to the severity that we're witnessing."
Christie headed Trump's presidential transition until he was unceremoniously replaced by incoming Vice President Mike Pence in the days after the election.
While the governor has long maintained that he plans to complete his last year in office before moving to the private sector, speculation remains that he is eyeing a top job in the administration, and people close to him have said he is open to potentially joining it one day.
Christie said earlier Wednesday that he has "no interest in having a permanent role" in the Trump administration at this time but that he was happy to spearhead the anti-drug effort.
Christie has made the issue of addiction a centerpiece of his administration and spoke extensively about it during his own presidential bid. He has dedicated his final year in office to addressing the drug crisis. Last month, he signed legislation that limits first-time opioid prescriptions to five days' worth of drugs and requires state-regulated health insurers to cover at least six months of substance abuse treatment.
"This issue causes enormous pain and destruction to everyday families in every state in this country," said Christie, who has been working behind the scenes with White House officials since shortly after Trump's inauguration.
Trump promised during his campaign to stop drugs from "pouring" into the country, and said the new group would work with local officials, law enforcement, medical professionals and addicts to improve treatment options, prevent people from getting hooked in the first place and stop the flow of drugs across the border.
But critics say Trump's actions as president so far undermine his rhetoric. The failed GOP health care bill that Trump had pushed to pass sought to end the "Obamacare" Medicaid expansion, which provides substance abuse and mental health treatment. It also would have stripped requirements that insurance plans provide the services as "essential" benefits.
"There is a massive gulf between President Trump's promises to tackle this crisis and the policies this administration has proposed during his first two months in office," said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, who also called on the commission to re-evaluate other budget cuts the administration has proposed.
The commission was rolled out as part of a new office led by Trump's son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner, whose father Christie prosecuted in Christie's former role as U.S. attorney.
Christie, who had lunch with Kushner on Tuesday, downplayed reports of tensions between the two, calling it "ancient history."
Information for this article was contributed by Vivian Salama and Josh Cornfield of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/30/2017