More information will come out soon, but as I write this here's what we know. The Washington Post was first to report that as part of the new Office of American Innovation initiative, the White House plans to combat opioid abuse and has tapped Governor Chris Christie to chair a commission. According to sources, this can be a part-time volunteer job and there would be no requirement for Christie to resign as governor.

But does anything Christie takes on that is so near and dear to his heart get anything other than his full attention? I have to wonder just how 'part-time' this role will be, and how much more time in his last year in office will be spent away from the business of our state. He is a good fit for this. His sincerity in talking about the heroin and opioid crisis in New Jersey (and across the country) comes through. Especially when he speaks of AJ Solomon. AJ was 19 when he started taking painkillers he would swipe from his father. A few short years later, hiding his addiction well, he graduated from University of Pittsburgh and went to work in the governor's office. By this time he had switched to using heroin because it was so much cheaper, and was a full blown addict. It came to light, and he ended up out of work and living on the street. He has since turned his life around. AJ Solomon is the son of Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Dianne Solomon and NJ Supreme Court Justice Lee Solomon. If it can happen to him, it really can happen to anybody.

So Christie has a passion for this. And it's one of the few areas that partisan politics takes a day off. He'll be great in this job. But should he give it his full attention and step down from his final few months as New Jersey's governor? You also have to wonder if this role will lead to an even bigger one sooner than later in the Trump administration. Recently Christie let it be known that New Jersey needs another republican as its next governor. In a blue state wouldn't the best chance for that come by giving the national opioid crisis his full attention in Washington, D.C. and hand the reins over to Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, giving her more credibility and name recognition going into the fall contest?

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