Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leak

Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump's nominee for a top job — 'I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,' Ingrassia wrote

(Image credit: Alex Brandon / AP Photo)

What happened

Senate Republicans Monday warned that President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, would not get confirmed, following reports he repeatedly posted racist comments in a group chat last year. Republicans had already delayed Ingrassia’s confirmation hearing over discomfort with his history of inflammatory remarks and ties to white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

Who said what

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs,” Ingrassia wrote in a 2024 group chat with GOP operatives and influencers, according to Politico, which obtained the entire text chain from a participant. “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,” Ingrassia, now 30, reportedly wrote a few months later, a comment that “was not taken as a joke” and drew pushback from three participants, Politico said.

“He’s not gonna pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.C.) told reporters Monday, urging Trump to pull Ingrassia’s nomination. At least three GOP senators — Rick Scott (Fla.), Ron Johnson (Wis.) and James Lankford (Okla.) — said they wouldn’t support Ingrassia. It was a “rare repudiation of a Trump nominee by a Republican Senate that has largely gone along with the president’s staffing choices,” Semafor said.

What next?

Scott, Johnson and Lankford “will have a chance to question Ingrassia Thursday — if Ingrassia’s confirmation hearing goes on as planned,” Politico said. A leaked racist and antisemitic group chat between Young Republicans leaders revealed last week led to the disbanding of chapters in Kansas and New York, the firing of several participants and the formal resignation Monday of Vermont state Sen. Samuel Douglass (R).

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.