Paul Ingrassia withdraws from Special Counsel race following leaked texts
Based on comprehensive reporting from multiple news sources, Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew from consideration on Tuesday evening after losing Republican Senate support following revelations of racist and antisemitic text messages.
The Nomination Collapses
Ingrassia announced his withdrawal on Tuesday evening, stating he would not appear at his scheduled Thursday confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because he lacked “enough Republican votes at this time”. The White House confirmed shortly afterward that he is no longer the nominee.
The 30-year-old attorney had been nominated in May to head the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency established nearly 50 years ago following Watergate to protect whistleblowers and enforce civil service regulations.
Controversial Text Messages
The nomination unraveled after Politico reported Monday on text messages in which Ingrassia allegedly stated he “has a Nazi streak” and suggested the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell”. The messages were part of a group chat with other Republicans.
“He’s not gonna pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday evening, representing a rare instance of Republican senators opposing a Trump nominee.
Ingrassia’s attorney suggested to Politico that the text messages may have been “manipulated” and, if genuine, could be interpreted as satire, but did not respond to subsequent requests for comment.
Republican Opposition Mounts
Multiple Republican senators on the Homeland Security Committee—where Republicans hold an 8-7 majority—signaled they would vote against Ingrassia, effectively blocking his path to confirmation. Senators Rick Scott of Florida, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin all indicated opposition to the nomination.
“I wouldn’t vote for him. His nomination should not have gotten this far. Hopefully it is pulled,” Johnson told reporters.
Thune called on the White House to withdraw the nomination and suggested the administration would announce a decision, telling journalists, “I think they have something to say about that, but you know what we’ve stated, and you’ll probably hear from them shortly”.
Background and Qualifications
Ingrassia was admitted to the bar in 2024 after graduating from Cornell Law School in 2022. He gained prominence by writing pro-Trump commentary on Substack, which Trump shared on Truth Social nearly 100 times last year. Ingrassia’s social media account described him as “President Trump’s favorite writer”.
During Trump’s second term, Ingrassia served briefly as White House liaison to the Department of Justice before being reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security in February after reportedly advocating for hiring individuals demonstrating “exceptional loyalty” to the president, which created tensions with the Justice Department’s chief of staff.
Prior reporting by CNN’s KFile highlighted Ingrassia’s history of controversial statements, including promoting conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks, advocating for martial law to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election, and claiming that “straight White men” are the most intelligent demographic.
Significance of Opposition
The collapse of Ingrassia’s nomination represents an unusual moment of Republican Senate independence during Trump’s second term, which has generally seen GOP lawmakers approve nominees considered extreme or unqualified by previous standards. The Office of Special Counsel position is designed to be politically independent and carries a five-year term.
In his withdrawal statement on social media, Ingrassia expressed gratitude for the “overwhelming support” he received and pledged to “continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again”. The White House has not announced a replacement nominee.