Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump's pick to lead a government whistleblower agency, withdrew his nomination on Tuesday night, after GOP senators publicly said they could not support his nomination.
Multiple Republican senators—many of whom go to great lengths to defend their Dear Leader—said that Ingrassia's recent comments in which he described himself as having a “Nazi streak,” spewed racist bile, and supported abhorrent antisemitic white supremacists and conspiracy theorists, were a bridge too far even for them.
“Hater Remembrance Day” by Clay Jones
"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, who currently serves as Trump’s White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a post on X on Tuesday evening. "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!"
Ingrassia's nomination to head the Office of Special Counsel had been on the rocks for months.
In July, Republicans postponed Ingrassia's first confirmation hearing amid opposition to Ingrassia's nomination from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who opposed Ingrassia’s support for pardoning insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Another confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday. However, reports of Ingrassia’s Nazi comments, as well as a Politico report that said Ingrassia sexually harassed a female subordinate in the Trump administration by forcing her to share a hotel room with him on a business trip, made even the most Trump bootlicking senators recoil.
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In fact, Ingrassia's nomination was so rocky that his own mother personally traveled to Capitol Hill to yell at a pair of Democratic lawmakers who had written a letter demanding Ingrassia's nomination be pulled, the media outlet NOTUS reported.
"Mr. Ingrassia’s loyalty to Donald Trump over the Constitution, his calls for imposing martial law and celebrating violent January 6th insurrectionists, and his close associations with antisemitic extremists all make it clear that he lacks the temperament, experience, and fundamental constitutional fidelity required to lead this office," Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wrote in the letter. "He is not simply unqualified—his confirmation would pose a direct threat to federal whistleblowers, the credibility of the OSC, and the integrity of our oversight institutions."
That angered Ingrassia's mother so much she went to the Capitol to seek Garcia and Raskin out, telling staff in Garcia's office that she wanted to give Garcia "a piece of my mind," according to NOTUS' report.
“Paul is a strong, unwavering Catholic who is a staunch supporter of President Trump and his agenda,” Ingrassia's mother, Donna Gallo Ingrassia, told NOTUS. “This is an effort to muddy and derail the best candidate for the job. Schumer is a hypocrite, phony, and against President Trump and his agenda. Schumer is largely responsible for the continued shutdown of the Federal Government.”
Sadly for Ingrassia’s mother, berating two Democrats in the House—who have no say over executive branch nominations—failed. She probably should've sought out the Republican senators who thought her son was too big a Nazi and sex creep to win their vote.
Trump really picks the “best people.”
