Paul Ingrassia said he was withdrawing “unfortunately, we don’t have enough Republican votes at this time.”
Special prosecutor candidate Paul Ingrassia resigns
Special prosecutor candidate Paul Ingrassia said in a group chat that he had “Nazi tendencies,” Politico reported.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel withdrew from his confirmation hearing after Republican senators said they would not vote for him following reports that he had sent a series of racist and anti-Semitic texts.
Paul Ingrassia said in a social media post that he will be withdrawing from a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing scheduled for Oct. 23, “unfortunately, there are not enough Republican votes at this time.”
“I am grateful for the overwhelming support I have received throughout this process, and I look forward to continuing to serve President Trump and this administration and make America great again!” Ingrassia added.
In a rare disagreement with Mr. Trump, several Republican senators said in recent days that they would not support Mr. Ingrassia to head the Office of Special Counsel, the ethics arm that protects federal employees from whistleblower retaliation.
Notable non-voters include Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to official statements. On October 20, Senate Minority Leader John Thune of South Dakota also urged the White House not to move forward with Ingrassia’s confirmation.
“He’s not going to pass,” Thune told reporters, according to The Hill.
Who is Paul Ingrassia?
Mr. Ingrassia, 30, is a lawyer and former podcaster who supported Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and held positions at the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s second administration.
Politico reported this week that in a text chat, Ingrassia, a conservative lawyer and commentator, said he had “Nazi tendencies” and thought the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “thrown into the seventh camp of hell.”
Ingrassia also called for the cancellation of other holidays that celebrate black culture in the United States, such as Juneteenth and Black History Month, according to the report.
Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Palczyk, questioned the legitimacy of the reported messages.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said the messages were “foul and disqualifying.”
Contributed by: Reuters
