Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has accused the Trump administration of undermining efforts to fight fentanyl trafficking after saying the Department of Justice relocated dozens of Arizona-based drug enforcement agents to Washington, D.C.
Mayes first told 12News over the weekend that the Trump administration sent 60 DEA agents from Arizona to participate in the president’s crime crackdown.
During a Monday press conference, Mayes demanded Trump return the agents, saying they play a critical role in combatting cartel activity.
“Arizona is the fentanyl funnel for the rest of the country, and I find it absolutely outrageous that any president would endanger our entire country in this way … I call on Donald Trump to give me our DEA agents back right now,” Mayes said.
She said an unknown number of federal agents have also been sent from Arizona to Los Angeles.
“They need to come back. They need to do their regular jobs,” Mayes said. “They need to not be chasing gardeners and landscapers around Home Depots and Georgetown in Washington, D.C.”
She said there were around 350 DEA agents in Arizona before the relocation, which further exacerbated what she sees as a shortage of federal drug enforcement officers in the state.
Even before the relocation, Mayes had repeatedly called on the Trump administration to send more agents to Arizona. She also criticized the federal government during former President Joe Biden’s term in office for not doing enough to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the state.
“I have no idea why the federal government, and the Trump administration in particular, thought this was a good idea, but it's a terrible idea, and I want those DEA agents back,” Mayes said.
Mayes said she has received no communications from her federal counterparts about the relocation, but she plans to send another letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to send the agents back to Arizona.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request to comment on Mayes’ criticism or provide a timeline for when the agents will return to Arizona.
However, Trump has indicated he would like to expand the crime suppression effort he rolled out in Washington to other Democratic-run cities, including New York and Chicago.
“They better not start sending them to other places like New York or Chicago also. I mean, I'll object, obviously, if they do that,” Mayes said.
Critics have argued the president has already exceeded his power in assembling that federal force – which includes agents from several agencies alongside National Guard troops – and that he is targeting cities run by political opponents, not looking out for public safety.
