Paul Ingrassia has pulled out of contention for a top legal role in the Trump administration after losing key Republican support over revelations of private texts in which he declared, “I have a Nazi streak.”
Ingrassia had faced criticism over his links to the avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes and the antisemitic influencer Andrew Tate since his nomination in May. But the January 2024 texts, first reported by Politico this week, showed that he personally had used a slur against Black people, called for the abolition of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday and expressed an affinity for Nazism.
Late Tuesday, Ingrassia announced that he would not appear in the Senate as planned on Thursday — though he indicated that he would keep his current lower-level role.
“I will be withdrawing myself 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 tweeted. “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!”
Four Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, publicly expressed opposition to Ingrassia’s nomination after the revelation of the private texts this week, which included both racist and antisemitic content.
“I’m not supporting him,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott told reporters on Monday. “I can’t imagine how anybody can be antisemitic in this country. It’s wrong.”
An attorney for Ingrassia did not confirm the texts’ authenticity to Politico but said they appeared to be jokes. A participant on the chain said they were not treated as jokes at the time and the Nazi comment in particular — “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it” — had drawn pushback from others on the chat.
The texts’ revelation comes just after Politico exposed private chats among state-level leaders of the Young Republicans in which multiple members expressed racist and antisemitic views, including the sentiment, “I love Hitler.” Several participants in that chat have lost their jobs, and Republican leaders in two states have dissolved their state youth organizations as a result. Vice President J.D. Vance said the texts represented youthful mistakes and that he was not worried about pro-Hitler views among young Republicans.
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