by Ben Whedon
President Donald Trump on Monday declared that he would designate fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction as the lethal drug increasingly comes to dominate illegal narcotics trafficking.
“This is yet another action in President Trump’s crackdown on fentanyl — on behalf of every American who has lost a loved one to this deadly poison,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Republican lawmakers have, for years, advocated for such a classification. In 2022, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged such a move during an interview with Just the News.
“Enough has come across [the border] to kill the entire population seven times over. This is an epidemic of huge proportions,” he said at the time. “It’s just out of control. And what inflames me is that it’s coming from China, the precursors, into Mexico, coming across into our border, not to mention the human trafficking elements and the drug cartels having operational control of our border.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi used the term “weapon of mass destruction” this year, when describing a record seizure of the drug.
“When we catch you like all of these individuals, if convicted, we will put you behind bars,” she said at the time. “There will be no negotiating and we will lock you up for as long as humanly possible. We will not negotiate with those who are killing our family members, including brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, parents, friends everyone in this room.”
According to Trump’s executive order, the president will use the “full weight of the Federal government is focused, coordinated, and mobilized to confront fentanyl as the deadly chemical weapon it is. ”
“President Trump will not rest until the cartels are dismantled, illicit fentanyl is eradicated from America’s streets, and every family is safe from this chemical weapon,” the executive order said.
In July, the president signed into law the HALT Fentanyl Act, which classified “fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.”
Overdose deaths in America last year dropped 27%, which is a five-year low, Reuters reported.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
