Scoop: Homan says fentanyl as WMD "at least" merits discussion

Designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) should "at least be a discussion," President Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday during Axios' Future of Defense Summit. The big picture: Homan emphasized fentanyl is a dangerous drug, citing U.S. death tolls he said are around 73,000 annually and noted the number was higher during the Biden administration. Driving the news: Homan said he attended a Department of Homeland Security briefing six months ago to discuss classifying the drug as a WMD. "When I left that briefing, it was my understanding that they would push that recommendation up to the Secretary, but I've been out of it ever since," he said. "They're really trying to make money on their customers, and we're not going to do that by killing them, right?" Homan said, referencing the goals of drug manufacturers. By the numbers: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated more than 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl in 2024. This year's numbers, updated in late September, found the DEA seized more than 262 million deadly doses of fentanyl. Yes, but: Preliminary data from the CDC earlier this year showed 2024 drug overdose deaths dropped to their lowest annual level since 2019, a 26.9% drop from the estimated 110,037 deaths in 2023. State of play: DHS began considering fentanyl's WMD designation in specific scenarios in 2019. Various bills and resolutions have tried to address the fentanyl crisis by reclassifying the drug but none have been successful. The Fentanyl is a WMD Act, introduced by Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) earlier this year, would require DHS' Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office to classify the drug as such. Go deeper: Trump pushed for grisly anti-fentanyl ads

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