Oct. 21 (UPI) — Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination on Tuesday to head the Office of Special Counsel after his Republican support in the Senate crumbled following the release of his racist and inflammatory text messages.
Ingrassia announced his decision in a post on X just a day after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that the 30-year-old lawyer and political commentator did not have enough support in the chamber and asked the White House to rethink his nomination.
“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!” he wrote.
The development is a rare instance of Senate Republicans publicly drawing a line with President Donald Trump over his picks for who works in his administration.
Ingrassia has been nominated by Trump to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency responsible for protecting government whistleblowers and investigates complaints of wrongdoing.
His nomination began unraveling after Politico reported on Monday on a series of his texts where he said he had a “Nazi streak” and that the federal holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”
Ingrassia used an Italian slur for Black people, according to Politico. He also wrote “Never trust a chinaman or Indian” in reference to former Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Following the report, Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida and James Lankford of Oklahoma all signaled that they would not vote to confirm Ingrassia, Semafor reported. Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the chamber.
For the most part, Trump’s controversial nominees have cleared the chamber and Republicans even changed the chamber’s rules to overcome Democratic opposition. However, Trump recently withdrew his nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ingrassia serves as the Trump administration’s go-between with the Justice Department and previously represented Andrew Tate, who has been accused of human trafficking, money laundering and other charges, which he denies.
Ingrassia performed poorly in a meeting with committee staff ahead of a confirmation hearing, Axios reported.
“There’s just some different statements he’s made in the past that need clarification,” Lankford told the news outlet at the time.