A senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee has demanded that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram address allegations of improper hiring and contracting of her past associates. The request Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa follows an investigation by The Associated Press finding that a federal watchdog is investigating whether strict federal rules on no-bid contracting and hiring may have been violated to channel DEA work to Milgram’s associates. The scrutiny by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General comes as the DEA is struggling with repeated revelations of agent misconduct and a fentanyl crisis claiming more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year.
