Report on Trump nominee's "Nazi streak" text threatens Senate confirmation
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Paul Ingrassia, left, is pictured on Jan. 20 in Washington, DC. Photo: Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images
President Trump's nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel is in jeopardy after Politico reported he told fellow Republicans in a text chain that he has a "Nazi streak" and that Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday should be "tossed into the seventh circle of hell."
Why it matters: If enough Senate Republicans join Democrats in opposing Paul Ingrassia's embattled nomination, it could force Trump to withdraw it or face the prospect of an embarrassing defeat.
- Ingrassia has a confirmation hearing scheduled Thursday.
Driving the news: Several Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) — have signaled they won't support Ingrassia or don't see him being confirmed, multiple outlets reported.
- He is scheduled to appear Thursday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, which holds an 8-7 GOP majority.
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a member of the panel, told reporters Monday that he did not support Ingrassia, per The New York Times. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who also sits on the committee, reportedly called on the White House to pull his nomination.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Catch up quick: Politico also reported that Ingrassia used an Italian slur for Black people in a text chain with a half-dozen Republican operatives and influencers.
- At one point, a participant told him he was "coming across as a white nationalist which is beneficial to nobody," to which Ingrassia replied that "defending our founding isn't 'white nationalist.'"
- He later wrote, "We should celebrate white men and western civilization and I will never back down from that."
What they're saying: Ingrassia's lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, said in a statement shared with Axios that "[e]ven 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 added that Ingrassia has "incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi."
Yes, but: Ingrassia has ties to figures known for platforming antisemitism and bigotry, including self-proclaimed "misogynist" Andrew Tate.
- He has advocated for Nick Fuentes and other "dissident voices" to be given a space in conservative politics.
Zoom out: House Democrats called for Ingrassia's "immediate dismissal" in a Monday letter to the president, saying he is "biased and incapable of fairly and even-handedly enforcing the law."
- Beyond his "total lack of qualifications," Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) cited a past Politico report that Ingrassia had been accused of sexual harassment by a lower-ranking female colleague, who later withdrew her complaint, fearing retaliation.
- Paltzik said in a statement that Ingrassia had "never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment."
The big picture: Trump nominated Ingrassia for the post after the administration fired Hampton Dellinger, the former head of the independent watchdog agency that investigates federal workers' whistleblower reports.
- The American Federation of Government Employees has warned Ingrassia's confirmation would threaten protections for civil servants, citing his public comments referring to them as "parasites" and "bugmen."
Go deeper: Trump nominees face new round of Senate GOP resistance
