Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew from consideration Tuesday after losing Republican support amid reports of racist text messages and prior harassment allegations.
Ingrassia announced that he was withdrawing his name from Thursday’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing for his nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel, referencing a lack of sufficient Republican votes for confirmation.
“I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote on social media. “I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”
Ingrassia’s withdrawal followed days of mounting controversy surrounding text messages he allegedly sent to a group chat of Republican operatives, in which he reportedly stated having a “Nazi streak” and suggested that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.”
Ingrassia’s attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, questioned the authenticity of the messages and said that even if they were authentic, “they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’”
The controversy compounded earlier reporting that a lower-ranking female colleague accused Ingrassia of sexual harassment during a Department of Homeland Security trip in Orlando. The woman later retracted the complaint, and DHS officials concluded that an internal investigation found no wrongdoing.
Several Senate Republicans signaled opposition to Ingrassia’s nomination ahead of his withdrawal. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) remarked Monday that the nomination was “not going to pass,” while Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) expressed plans to vote against him. A White House official confirmed Tuesday that Ingrassia was no longer the nominee.
Ingrassia, 30, previously served as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security and was nominated in May to lead the Office of Special Counsel — an independent agency responsible for protecting federal whistleblowers and enforcing civil service laws.
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