Some police groups are frustrated that the Trump administration's pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) doesn't have a stronger background in law enforcement, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The news outlet reported that Uttam Dhillon, who played a role in appointing the new acting DEA chief earlier this year, urged several candidates to withdraw from the process before ultimately taking the job himself.

"It baffles me that he could sway the vetting process and help decide who wasn’t qualified, while he floated to the top, because we don’t see a single qualification that makes him eligible to lead the agency," Jonathan Thompson, chief executive of the National Sheriffs’ Association said.

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Bob Bushman, the president of the National Narcotics Officers’ Associations Coalition, told the Journal that Dhillon's appointment was "disappointing."

“There were some very good people run up the flagpole, and they were turned down for someone who doesn’t have the breadth of knowledge and broad experience to tackle this problem,” Bushman told the news outlet.

Dhillon, who declined to speak with the Journal, worked in the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement under the George W. Bush administration, but has since held a number of legal-based jobs, including assistant U.S. attorney general in California and White House lawyer.

Dhillon left that role to serve as acting head of the DEA in July, following the sudden retirement of the previous acting director, Robert Patterson.

The DEA has been front and center in the Trump administration's effort to combat the opioid crisis. The president signed bipartisan legislation on Wednesday that includes sweeping updates and expansions to treatment, prevention and enforcement initiatives. Dhillon, according to the Journal, sat in the front row of the event.