Kellyanne Conway chosen as Trump's 'opioid czar' by Ariella Phillips on Nov 29, 2017, 11:33 PM Advertisement
 - Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway will be President Donald Trump's "opioid czar."
- Conway will supervise the White House's efforts to fight opioid addiction.
- Trump previously declared opioid abuse a national public health emergency.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has been chosen to be President Trump's "opioid czar."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Wednesday that the former pollster will supervise the White House's efforts to combat opioid addiction. "The president has made this a White House priority," Sessions said. "He's asked her to coordinate and lead the effort from the White House." Trump declared opioid abuse a national public health emergency in October. Federal data shows opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and prescription painkillers kill 71 Americans a day. "She is exceedingly talented," Sessions continued about Conway. "She understands messaging." Trump appointed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to a White House panel on opioid abuse earlier in the year. Conway had been involved in that effort as well. On Tuesday, Christie spoke a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Baltimore, Md. He said more funding is needed to fight the crisis and pointed to the $1 billion made available in the 21st Century Cures Act last year, but said that isn’t enough. “In New Jersey, we are spending $500 million,” he said. “I am not, quite frankly, impressed with $1 billion from the federal government for the nation.” The news of Conway's new role comes just hours after the Washington Examiner reported that Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who is chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, declared that he opposed having Trump appoint an "opioid czar" to oversee efforts to tackle the epidemic. Instead, he said he preferred the job fall to the health and human services secretary. SEE ALSO: Kellyanne Conway says Trump didn't tweet about Roy Moore because the story is 8 days old
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