WASHINGTON — Chuck Rosenberg, a senior F.B.I. official and former United States attorney, has been chosen by President Obama to be the interim director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to law enforcement officials.

Mr. Rosenberg will replace Michele M. Leonhart, who announced her retirement last month after accusations that D.E.A. agents in Colombia had participated in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels. She also clashed repeatedly with the Obama administration over its marijuana policies.

For the past year and a half, Mr. Rosenberg has served as the chief of staff to the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey.

Mr. Rosenberg has been supported by both Republicans and Democrats. In 2006, the Senate unanimously confirmed him as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He also served as the United States attorney in the Southern District of Texas from 2005 to 2006.