Paul Ingrassia withdraws from hearing to lead watchdog office

Chris Johnson, CQ-Roll Call on Oct 21, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel announced he would withdraw from a confirmation hearing set for Thursday “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.”

Paul Ingrassia was scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in his bid for the role, which had already been delayed because of questions over the 30-year-old’s experience and his connection to controversial figures.

The concerns included ties to Nick Fuentes, a right-wing commentator associated with White nationalism and antisemitic views, and Andrew Tate, a right-wing figure known for misogynistic views.

The nominee was also the subject of an internal investigation at the Department of Homeland Security, where he worked as White House liaison, as the result of a sexual harassment complaint, according to a report in Politico. Ingrassia posted a letter from his attorney responding to that report that said the nominee did not engage in wrongdoing.

The latest blow against Ingrassia came after a report Monday in Politico revealed inflammatory text messages with racist invective in a chat with a half-dozen Republican operatives.

Among the messages was his admissions he has a “Nazi streak in me from time to time,” as well as another text using a racial slur to denounce holidays like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which he said in a separate text should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.”

Among the texts was a remark Ingrassia reportedly made in January 2024 about then-Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. “Never trust a chinaman or Indian” he wrote and then added: “NEVER,” according to Politico.

Established in the 1970s, Congress created the Office of Special Counsel as an independent agency to shield federal workers from illegal practices and protect whistleblowers.

Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters Tuesday they “would find something out in the next day or two” about the fate of Ingrassia’s nomination as fallout from the reporting continued.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., asked about Ingrassia at a news conference Tuesday, hinted that the nomination would not last much longer. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican and committee member, had also reportedly opposed Ingrassia’s appointment.

Igrassia posted on social media Tuesday night that he “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.”

“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 wrote.

Congressional Democrats chided Republicans over the pending nomination of Ingrassia, accusing the Trump administration of moving forward with a nominee who was unfit for the Office of Special Counsel based on his history of sexism and racist remarks.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Trump to “pull Mr. Ingrassia’s nomination immediately” in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday.

“He should be fired from his current job within the administration, and he should never, never hold a position of leadership within the Republican Party or the government again,” Schumer said.

President Donald Trump tapped him for the spot in May after firing Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee, in February amid a legal battle on the president’s authority to remove independent agency heads.

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