(The Center Square) – The rate of Pennsylvania’s fentanyl deaths has collapsed over the last two years, though the fight is far from over, according to one of the most senior law enforcement leaders who visited the commonwealth on Wednesday.
FBI Director Kash Patel came to Allentown for a roundtable hosted by Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, focused on enforcement efforts, disrupting trafficking networks, and the path forward for treatment and recovery. The consensus was that while progress has been made, much work remains.
“Senator McCormick and our partners in Pennsylvania have been tremendous supporters for law enforcement, helping this FBI and interagency partners across the country deliver record results on tackling the fentanyl crisis within the last year alone,” said Patel.
Crediting the collective work of the Trump administration, Congress and prosecutors, he pointed to “20-point drops” in both opioid overdoses and homicide rates in the U.S. during 2025.
Patel also said that through the administration’s engagement with China, he was able to visit Beijing, resulting in increased export controls on the 13 precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl.
McCormick added that from 2020 to 2023, fentanyl killed approximately 4,000 Pennsylvanians each year. Preliminary data, he said, indicates that the figure fell to about 1,500 in 2025 – the lowest level in a decade. Still, participants agreed that one fentanyl death is one too many.
“Many of the people around this table,” McCormick said, “have been instrumental in prosecuting violent crimes, cartels, and drug distribution here in Pennsylvania, and it’s making a difference.”
That impact was highlighted by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, who said that through the state’s collaborative efforts with local and federal partners, his office removed 56.5 million doses of fentanyl in 2025 alone.
Sunday pledged to keep the numbers trending downward, stressing that, “now is the time you triple down – you don’t walk away – and I know that is exactly what everyone here wants to do.”
Many in attendance were impacted by the stories of the Cullen, Ott, and Miller families, who lost children to fentanyl.
“Their stories are a powerful reminder to all of us of why we’re here and why we do this work,” said David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He added that hearing them personally renews his commitment to preventing future deaths.
Metcalf said that violence is not the worst criminal problem affecting his district. Measured by lives lost, he said, it remains drugs.
According to a press release provided to The Center Square by McCormick’s office, FBI Philadelphia expanded local enforcement efforts in 2025, seizing 82 kilograms of cocaine – up 15% from 2024 – along with more than 27 kilograms of fentanyl.
In December 2025, the Department of Justice, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and state, and local partners established a Homeland Security Task Force in Philadelphia focused on targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations fueling fentanyl overdoses and community violence.
The release also said the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General have further reinforced those efforts. Last year, the DEA seized more than 47 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder – the equivalent of more than 369 million lethal doses.
McCormick has also introduced or sponsored several pieces of fentanyl-related legislation, including the HALT Fentanyl Act, signed into law by President Trump in July 2025.
Patel said he was inspired by the people in the room who dedicate their lives to fighting this epidemic and expressed confidence that the work being done in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. will show continued progress.
