Democrats in Congress called on President Trump to withdraw his nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) after a new report exposed text messages in which the nominee purportedly denounced the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and admitted to having a “Nazi streak in me from time to time.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.) — the top Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, respectively — wrote a letter to the president on Monday urging him to dismiss Paul Ingrassia from federal service and to withdraw his nomination.
Ingrassia’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
The pair of high-ranking Democrats pointed to the “racist messages” reported by Politico on Monday, which included allegations about past ties between Ingrassia, a former podcast host, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. They also pointed to past reporting indicating Ingrassia was the subject of a sexual harassment investigation at the Department of Homeland Security, where he serves as the White House liaison. The woman who filed the initial sexual harassment complaint later withdrew it, Politico reported.
“Mr. Ingrassia’s misconduct renders his continued employment as a White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dangerous for women, and his proposed promotion to serve as Special Counsel demeans the office and is insulting to the American people,” Thompson and Garcia wrote in the letter, addressed to the president.
The Democrats noted several examples of text messages exposed in the Politico report that they described as problematic.
“I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,” Ingrassia allegedly wrote in one message. In another, he allegedly wrote, “Never trust a chinaman or Indian.”
“We need competent white men in positions of leadership … The founding fathers were wrong that all men are created equal … We need to reject that part of our heritage,” Ingrassia wrote in a series of messages, according to Politico.
“Ultimately, Mr. Ingrassia is biased and incapable of fairly and even-handedly enforcing the law,” the Democrats wrote in the letter.
In a separate statement, Thompson added: “It’s shameful that someone under investigation for harassment—and now exposed for sending racist messages—would be rewarded with a promotion. President Trump must immediately withdraw his nomination and remove him from government service.”
Edward Andrew Paltzik, Ingrassia’s attorney, did not confirm the authenticity of the message but still suggested they were made lightheartedly.
“Even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’ In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi,” Paltzik told Politico, in a statement confirmed to The Hill.
“In this age of AI, authentication of allegedly leaked messages, which could be outright falsehoods, doctored, or manipulated, or lacking critical context, is extremely difficult,” he added.
In the letter to Trump, the Democrats also focused heavily on the alleged sexual harassment incident, which they noted was investigated by the DHS Inspector General and White House Office of Presidential Personnel and resulted in the temporary revocation of Ingrassia’s badge and access to DHS headquarters.
Ingrassia’s nomination “demonstrates the Trump administration’s contempt for the safety of women in the workplace and is a slap in the face to every American who values justice and integrity in the federal merit system,” the Democrats wrote.
Paltzik denied the sexual harassment allegations completely, writing, “Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment.”
Thompson and Garcia called Ingrassia “wholly unfit to lead” OSC, which handles sensitive matters, including federal whistleblower complaints and discrimination claims.
They noted that Ingrassia, at 30, “only recently graduated law school has less legal experience than many of the people who apply for entry-level positions at the organization he is nominated to lead.”
“To begin rebuilding the integrity of DHS and OSC, Mr. Ingrassia must be dismissed from federal service and his nomination to serve as Special Counsel must be withdrawn immediately,” the Democrats wrote. “Mr. Ingrassia’s employment and nomination are affronts to women, people of color, and the American public. We look forward to the prompt withdrawal of this unqualified and dangerous nominee.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
In July, Ingrassia was slated for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, but his name was quietly removed from the agenda. At the time, the White House said it was not withdrawing his nomination.
“Paul Ingrassia is still the nominee and is currently serving in his role as White House Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. He will spend the next month speaking with Senators and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed. The President has full confidence in him and his ability to lead the Office of Special Counsel,” an administration official told The Hill then.
