GOP opens inquiry into DEA fentanyl policing tactic amid whistleblower claims

House Republicans are probing the DEA’s controversial tactic alleged to let fentanyl shipments slip through, a practice whistleblowers say helped fuel the fentanyl surge. An Associated Press investigation noted that while a 2025 operation seized about 3 million fentanyl pills, much larger quantities went unseized as drug couriers moved through hotels with backpacks. The disclosures prompted a nationwide review by the Justice Department’s inspector general of similar tactics across federal investigations, with the DEA promising cooperation as the probe continues.