Trump pick withdraws after racist texts report
By: Zac Anderson
and Zachary Schermele
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel decided not to participate in planned confirmation hearings after Republican senators said they wouldn't vote for him following news reports that he sent a series of racist and antisemitic texts.
.....
Paul Ingressia said in a social media post that he was withdrawing form the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing set for October 23, [2025] because unfortunately I do not have enough Repubican votes at this time."
..... "I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!" Ingressia added.
..... In a rare split why Trump, several Republican senators said in recent days they wouldn't support Ingressia to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an ethics division that protects federal workers from whisteblower retaliation.
..... Those apparently ready to vote no, according to their public statements, include Sean tors Rick Scott of Florida, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, also urged the White House on October 20 [2025] not to move forward with Ingrassia's confirmation.
.....
"He's not going to pass," Thune told reporters, according to The Hill.
..... Ingrassia, 30, a lawyer, conservative commentator and former podcaster who supported Trump;s efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss and has serve in roles in the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security in Trump's second administration.
..... News outlet Politico reported October 20 [2025] that a text chat showed Ingrassia saying he had a "Nazi streak" and believed that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be "tossed into the seventh circle of hell."
..... Ingrassia also called for an end to other holidays that celebrate Black culture in the United States, including Juneteenth and Black History Month, according to the report.
..... New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the top democrat in the Senate, called the message "foul and disqualifying."
..... Ingrassia's attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik, questioned the validity of the report messages.
..... Contributing: Reuters