Trump nominee Ingrassia bows out amid GOP pushback
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President Trump listens to other speakers during an event in the Oval Office on Oct. 16. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Paul Ingrassia withdrew himself from consideration to serve as the head of the Office of the Special Counsel ahead of a scheduled Thursday hearing after several GOP senators warned they would vote against him.
Why it matters: Ingrassia's history of controversial statements — compounded by new reporting of racist text messages — even made some of President Trump's close allies on the Hill unwilling to back him.
- "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 said Tuesday evening in a post on X.
- "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," he continued.
- A White House official confirmed to Axios that Ingrassia is no longer the nominee.
What they're saying: Ron Johnson (Wisc.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and James Lankford (Okla.) were among the GOP senators who expressed opposition to Ingrassia's nomination, as Semafor reported.
- "He's not gonna pass," Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday.
Catch up quick: Ingrassia is an attorney and 30-year-old, right-wing podcaster.
- His nomination has been in jeopardy from nearly the start. He bombed an early meeting with committee staff back in July, Axios reported at the time.
- Senators' concerns were only amplified by new reporting from Politico this week that he texted in a GOP 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."
Zoom out: Ingrassia is the latest in a recent string of embattled nominations.
- The White House has indefinitely paused the judicial nomination of former Florida Deputy Attorney General John Guard due to his involvement with a charity under criminal investigation, Axios scooped Monday.
- Trump also withdrew economist E.J. Antoni's nomination to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics late last month amid concerns he was viewed as unqualified and too partisan.
- Earlier this year, the White House pulled Dave Weldon's nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
