Paul Ingrassia withdraws as Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel after racist and anti-Israel remarks spark bipartisan outrage.
In a major setback for the Trump administration, Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), withdrew his candidacy Tuesday after the emergence of deeply offensive, racist and anti-Israel messages allegedly sent in a private group chat.
The OSC, an independent watchdog tasked with protecting federal whistleblowers and enforcing the Hatch Act, had been set to receive Ingrassia as its next leader — until the scandal exploded this week.
“Unfortunately, I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote in a social media post Tuesday evening. “I will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”
His resignation came just hours after Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled that the White House was preparing to pull the nomination altogether. “I think they’ll have something official to say about that,” Thune told reporters.
Ingrassia’s confirmation collapsed amid a storm of bipartisan condemnation following a Politico exposé that revealed messages in which he described himself as having “a Nazi streak,” mocked Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and posted anti-Israel content during prior social media discussions on U.S. foreign policy.
The fallout was swift: Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) publicly opposed the nomination Monday night, saying flatly, “No, I do not support him.” With Scott’s rejection and unanimous Democratic opposition, the nomination was doomed before Thursday’s scheduled hearing.
Ingrassia’s attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, claimed the messages were “taken out of context” and represented “satirical humor mocking the absurdity of liberals calling MAGA supporters Nazis.” Paltzik further insisted that Ingrassia “has incredible support from the Jewish community,” despite records showing the nominee’s history of amplifying anti-Israel conspiracy theories and criticizing U.S. aid to Israel.
Sources within the administration told CNN that Trump’s senior advisers urged Ingrassia to withdraw to avoid a public Senate defeat that could distract from ongoing national security and immigration policy debates.
Ingrassia, a junior attorney admitted to the bar only last year, previously interned in the Trump White House and later worked briefly as a Justice Department liaison before being reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security. His short career has been marked by a series of controversial online statements — from suggesting martial law after the 2020 election to casting doubt on U.S. intelligence assessments of Iran and Hamas.
Political observers said his withdrawal spared the administration an ugly confirmation battle that risked alienating key Republican moderates and Jewish voters.
“There’s no room for Nazi jokes or anti-Israel rhetoric in American public service,” one GOP strategist said. “This withdrawal was overdue.”
