Paul Ingrassia, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew his name from consideration after texts surfaced in which he said he had a “bit of a Nazi streak.”
In a Tuesday night post on X, Ingrassia said he was withdrawing because “unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had urged Trump to pull Ingrassia’s nomination, saying he didn’t think the nominee would get the votes needed to be confirmed.
“He’s not gonna pass,” Thune told reporters on Monday.
Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI) and James Langford (R-OK) — all MAGA Republicans, who rarely break from the president — also signaled they will oppose Ingrassia’s confirmation.
Ingrassia was set to have his confirmation hearing on Thursday. When asked on Tuesday if he thinks it’s a mistake for the Trump nominee to appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Thune laughed and said: “Yeah,” per Politico.
Ingrassia’s nomination has been plagued by alleged extremist, racist and sexist incidents and statements from his past, as well as backlash over his limited federal oversight experience. He has served as White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security since 2025, and said in his Tuesday post that he “will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”
Ingrassia texted a group of Republicans in January 2024 that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday “should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” Politico revealed.
And in May 2024, Ingrassia allegedly texted, saying he has “a Nazi streak” after a participant of the text chain wrote, “Paul belongs in the Hitler Youth with Ubergruppenfuhrer Steve Bannon.”
Ingrassia replied: “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,” according to Politico.
In response, Ingrassia’s lawyer tried to downplay the reported exchanges.
“We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages,” Edward Andrew Paltzik, an attorney for Ingrassia, said in a statement, adding that “even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor.”
In a separate incident, Ingrassia was reportedly investigated for harassment after making a lower-ranking female colleague share a hotel room with him, according to Politico.
The female colleague in question filed a HR complaint following the incident, Politico reported, only to retract it days later out of fear of retaliation.
Ingrassia’s attorney denied the allegations.
“Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment,” Paltzik wrote in a letter.
A high-tech lynching of an impressionable young Nazi. Can’t believe having his mom call people on his behalf didn’t move any needles.
LOL!
Guess I’m not the only one tired of the barely-post-pubescents seeking fame and power.
Maybe President Miller signaled that a mere streak was insufficient in this important role.
So now we’ll only have secret Nazis, I guess.
The successful will be those who manage to be Nazis but hide the signs from the public. Because there’s no way any of these people will give up their Naz8/KKK-inspired beliefs and behaviors.
What? He didn’t just want to spend for time with his family.