Indian American named DEA's acting adminisrator

Government attorney Uttam Dhillon will head up the DEA until a permanent director is named.

AN INDIAN AMERICAN attorney has been picked to lead the fight against the opioid crisis.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced today (July 2) the appointment of Uttam Dhillon as Acting Administrator, replacing Robert Patterson, who has retired after 30 years of service.

"With one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes, there can be no doubt that we are facing the deadliest drug epidemic in our history," Attorney General Sessions said. "The work of the Drug Enforcement Administration is critical to fighting this crisis, and President Trump and I are committed to continuing to give it the strong leadership it deserves.  

"That is why I am pleased to appoint Uttam Dhillon as Acting Administrator. Uttam is a dedicated public servant who has served with distinction in the White House, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, and as a career federal prosecutor taking on drug traffickers at the highest levels," said Sessions.

Dhillon began serving in the role of Acting Administrator immediatedly.

Dhillon has had a long career battling drug traffickers and violent crime.  In 2006, Dhillon was confirmed by the Senate as the first Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security.  In that role, Dhillon served as the primary policy advisor on counternarcotics issues, focused on combating the connections between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism and developed regional counternarcotics strategies for DHS.

Prior to DHS, Dhillon served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Department of Justice, where he chaired the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Coordination Committee, and led efforts to formulate and implement Department of Justice policies and programs to combat violent crime and criminal gangs.  

Earlier in his career, Dhillon worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California for 6 ½ years.  During that period, Dhillon was appointed to the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and worked with federal and local law enforcement agencies to direct complex investigations of violent gangs and major narcotics trafficking organizations.    

More recently, Dhillon has served as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President. While sreving in this position he made headlines when the New York Times reported that Dhillon intentionally misled Trump to try to stop him from firing then-FBI Director James Comey, whom he worked for 2003-20006.

Dhillon went so far as to assign a junior lawyer to research for any law that would prevent Trump from firing Comey. When the junior lawyer couldn't find any legal reason to prevent Comey's dismissal, Dhillon didn't correct the record, the NY Times reported.

Dhillon also has significant experience in the Legislative Branch, holding several senior roles including Chief Oversight Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.   Both prior to and subsequent to his public service, Dhillon worked for several large law firms.

Dhillon received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. from California State University, Sacramento.