On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump tapped another far-right extremist for a key post in his administration, nominating former right-wing podcast host Paul Ingrassia to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
“Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Paul holds degrees from both Cornell Law School and Fordham University, where he majored in Mathematics and Economics, graduating near the top of his class. Congratulations Paul!”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House on March 21.
These days, it seems the only way to land a spot in Trump’s Cabinet is to be a billionaire, an election denier, a Fox News alum, one of his personal defense lawyers, or a podcaster. Just look at the cast: Pete Hegseth (Fox News), Jeanine Pirro (Fox News), Pam Bondi (Fox News), Dan Bongino (Fox News and podcaster), Sean Duffy (Fox News). Trump watches Fox and other right-wing channels like they’re a job-application reel—then gives these people real power.
And when he’s not recruiting from his favorite cable channel, he’s filling top posts with sycophants who lack qualifications but never question his authority. Enter Ingrassia.
At just 30 years old, Ingrassia is wildly unqualified to lead an agency responsible for protecting federal whistleblowers and enforcing the Hatch Act, a law designed to keep partisan politics out of the federal workforce. Sure, he’s currently a White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, but running the U.S. Office of Special Counsel is a different beast entirely.
That office has already been under siege since Trump returned to power. In February, he fired then-head Hampton Dellinger. Dellinger sued to keep his job, but a federal appeals court sided with the administration in March.
It’s no mystery why Trump wanted Dellinger—whom former President Joe Biden appointed—gone. During Trump’s first term, the office investigated his aides for violating the Hatch Act and found that 13 of them had illegally used their positions to campaign for his reelection. In other words, the office embarrassed Trump, and now he’s making sure that won’t happen again.
Ingrassia, a far-right Trump loyalist, is just the man for that job. And his record makes clear where his loyalties lie.
A police officer escorts Andrew Tate, left, handcuffed, from the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, in March 2024.
He was part of the legal team representing Andrew Tate—the far-right influencer charged with rape and human trafficking—in a defamation case in Florida. According to the BBC, Ingrassia also acted as Tate’s publicist and helped book him on Tucker Carlson’s show. On social media, Ingrassia has called Tate “an extraordinary human being” who offered “a dying West some hope for renewal.” And in July 2023, Ingrassia described Tate as “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.”
That’s not all. Ingrassia is also an apologist for Nick Fuentes, an infamous white nationalist and antisemite. Ingrassia once published a Substack post titled “Free Nick Fuentes” and wrote on X that “dissident voices” like Fuentes should have a place in the conservative movement.
Ingrassia also co-hosted a podcast called “Right on Point,” and in December 2020, one of its social media accounts called on Trump to “declare martial law and secure his re-election”—while spreading the lie that Trump won the 2020 election.
So yes, putting someone like him in an ethics watchdog role isn’t just disturbing—it’s dangerous.
After Trump’s post, Ingrassia wrote on X that, as head of the office, he’d “make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch,” with a focus on “eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse” and “revitaliz[ing]” Hatch Act enforcement.
Obviously, that’s hard to take seriously. The Hatch Act has already been trampled by Trump and his allies, especially during his first term. Trump didn’t face consequences then, and with Ingrassia in charge, he certainly won’t now.
Trump is stacking his Cabinet with extremists and trolls. And we’ll all pay the price.
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