Paul Ingrassia withdraws nomination amid mounting controversies

Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to head a government watchdog agency on Tuesday after his incendiary rhetoric came to a head this week in a report on racially fueled text messages he allegedly sent.

Ingrassia’s decision to withdraw from consideration comes two days before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee considers his nomination.

“I will be withdrawing from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote on social media.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., dashed any hopes of Ingrassia’s confirmation Monday, saying, “It will not pass.” When asked Tuesday if it would be a mistake for Ingrassia to show up for his hearing, Thune laughed and said, “Yeah.”

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Paul Ingrassia, White House liaison to the Department of Justice, left, announces the release of brothers Andrew and Matthew Valentin outside the DC Central Detention Center, January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Pete Kiehart/The Washington Post)

Ingrassia, 30, said in a group chat, according to Politico, that he sometimes had a “Nazi streak” in him, and he used the term “moleignon,” an Italian slur toward black people, to call for the suppression of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month.

The leaked discussion was just the latest controversy as Ingrassia has made the rounds within the administration.

In July, Ingrassia faced a formal complaint from a lower-ranking colleague who claimed, according to Politico, that when they arrived at a hotel for a work trip to Orlando, she discovered she didn’t have a room and was informed by Ingrassia that she would share one with him. The woman, who ended up sharing a room with him, later withdrew her complaint and Ingrassia disputed it as well.

Ingrassia has publicly defended social media influencer and self-described “misogynist” Andrew Tate, and previously worked at a law firm that said he was part of Tate’s legal team before his admission to the New York bar in July 2024. Tate and his brother face British charges of rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for profit, filed by the Crown Prosecution Service in May 2025. They deny the allegations.

Ingrassia was first hired as a White House liaison at the Justice Department, where he was briefly tasked with recruiting Trump loyalists to the department. But he left abruptly and took a job with the Department of Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump appointed Ingrassia in May to head the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency (not affiliated with the DOJ) that reviews workplace complaints from federal employees.

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President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

“Paul is a highly respected lawyer, writer, and constitutional scholar who has done tremendous work as the White House Homeland Security Liaison,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Ingrassia denied the text messages sent to Politico, saying through his lawyer that even if they were real, “they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor, mocking the fact that liberals wildly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis’.”

Ingrassia has been repeatedly scrutinized for her controversial writings, and pressure has mounted on Trump to withdraw his nomination.

In a post deleted days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Ingrassia called the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a “psyop.”

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate (center) arrives at the municipal court in Bucharest, Romania, June 21, 2023. (Daniel MihailescuI/AFP via Getty Images)

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A coalition of Jewish organizations was among those calling for Ingrassia’s candidacy to be withdrawn.

“Mr. Ingrassia’s public statements and associations with individuals who espouse anti-Semitic, racist and misogynistic views raise serious questions about his ability to discharge these responsibilities with the integrity, impartiality and commitment required by his office,” the coalition wrote.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Ingrassia is no longer the nominee.

Alex Miller contributed to this report.