Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s 30-year-old nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, is facing near-certain rejection in the Senate following the leak of text messages containing racist and offensive remarks.
According to Politico, the messages came from a private group chat in which Ingrassia allegedly described himself as having “a Nazi streak,” said the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” and used racial and ethnic slurs:
That followed an earlier report about a sexual harassment complaint against the 30-year-old Trump administration official that was investigated and later withdrawn. Ingrassia denied any wrongdoing.
Asked if it would be a mistake for Ingrassia to appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for a scheduled Thursday hearing, Thune laughed then said, “Yeah.”
Committee Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) declined to say definitively whether the hearing would continue as scheduled. “We’ll know more on Thursday,” he said.
Asked if the White House should withdraw Ingrassia’s nomination, Paul responded, “That’s going to be their decision — we’re waiting to find out what their decision will be.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that Ingrassia “is not gonna pass” confirmation and called on the White House to withdraw the nomination. Several other Republican senators — including Rick Scott, Ron Johnson, and James Lankford — have indicated they will vote against him.
The Office of Special Counsel serves as an independent federal watchdog responsible for protecting whistleblowers and investigating misconduct. Lawmakers from both parties say the language attributed to Ingrassia undermines his credibility and calls into question his impartiality.
The public rebuke from Senate leadership is a rare break within the president’s own party and signals a high likelihood the nomination will fail if brought to a vote.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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