Sara Carter, President Trump’s nominee for drug czar, at a convention in 2023.Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Lev Facher covers the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis.

Sara Carter, the former Fox News journalist nominated to serve as the nation’s top drug policy official, defended her credentials to skeptical Democratic lawmakers in a confirmation hearing Wednesday, arguing that her firsthand reporting experience qualifies her for a leading role combating drug trafficking and the overdose crisis. 

“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a general, I’m not a lawyer,” Carter said during the hearing. “What I am was a more than two-decade investigative journalist who was on the ground, in the field, witnessing firsthand what these cartels and what these terrorist organizations have not only done to our nation and to the rest of the world, but to our children.” 

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President Trump in March nominated Carter to serve as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a role commonly referred to as “drug czar.” The office, while not a part of other federal agencies focused on drug use, plays a key role in managing federal spending and guiding policy on substance use, drug trafficking, and addiction medicine. 

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