Paul Ingrassia is no longer the nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, two White House officials told CNN on Tuesday, after his chances of getting through the Senate confirmation imploded following reports of racist text messages that he allegedly sent to a group chat.
Ingrassia posted earlier Tuesday evening that he was withdrawing himself from his confirmation hearing “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.” He added that he appreciated the “overwhelming support” he received and that he “will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”
His post came hours after Senate Majority Leader John Thune hinted that the White House would pull Ingrassia’s nomination following the reports of racist text messages. “I think they’ll have something official to say about that, but you know what we’ve said, and you’ll probably be hearing from them soon,” he told reporters at the White House.
Earlier Tuesday, a White House official told CNN his nomination was “under review.”
Thune said Monday night that he hoped the White House would pull the nomination after Politico’s reporting on the messages. “He’s not going to pass,” Thune added of Ingrassia, whom Trump nominated in May to lead the independent agency tasked with protecting federal whistleblowers and enforcing civil service laws.
Ingrassia was set to appear before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing, but one Republican senator on the panel had already announced he’d vote against advancing the nomination.
“No, I do not support him,” Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Monday night. Scott’s opposition would have effectively sunk the nomination in committee, assuming every Democrat joined him.
On Tuesday, after Politico’s report, CNN’s KFile reported that Ingrassia lost the support of the main Jewish group backing his nomination
Ingrassia, whose nomination had already drawn scrutiny, allegedly texted a group chat of other Republicans saying he has “a Nazi streak” and that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” according to Politico, which viewed the group chat.
Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, initially questioned the authenticity of the messages but added that if authentic, they were meant satirically.
“Looks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted. However, arguendo, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis,’” he wrote in a statement to Politico.
“In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi,” Paltzik added. In a subsequent statement to Politico, he said, “there are who cloak themselves in anonymity while executing their underhanded personal agendas to harm Mr. Ingrassia at all costs,” and that “we do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages.”
KFile has previously reported on Ingrassia’s history of racist invective and conspiratorial rants, and affinity for a well-known White nationalist and Holocaust denier. His nomination had drawn scrutiny over his past promotion of conspiracy theories and tweets from his podcast that included calls for martial law following Trump’s 2020 election loss and harsh anti-Israel rhetoric aimed at the GOP. Ingrassia also argued publicly that “straight White men” are the most intelligent demographic group and should be prioritized in education.
Amid KFile’s initial reporting in July, the Trump administration insisted that Ingrassia had the backing of “many Jewish groups,” listing four — but most of those groups told CNN in July that they do not support him.
On Tuesday, Morton Klein — president of the main Jewish group that had been backing Ingrassia’s nomination, Zionist Organization of America — told CNN in a statement, “If these text revelations are accurate, I have no choice but to immediately withdraw my support. In this time of a surge and growing antisemitism, it is incumbent upon all of us to fight even any hint of antisemitism or racism.”
Ingrassia, who was admitted to the bar only last summer, held a brief White House internship during Trump’s first term. This year, Ingrassia first worked as a White House liaison at the Justice Department before reportedly being pushed out and reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security.
He would have marked a sharp departure from previous heads of the OSC, a role designed to be politically independent and to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Rather than a long record of managerial or prosecutorial experience, typical of those who previously held the job, Ingrassia brought a fervent loyalty to Trump and a lengthy record of inflammatory statements.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett and Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
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