Paul Ingrassia: Trump’s man with Nazi tendencies is retiring

A candidate for the leadership of an independent US federal agency to protect whistleblowers who has come under criticism for alleged sympathies for Nazi ideology will now not take over the top office after all.

Paul Ingrassia, who was nominated for the post by US President Donald Trump, wrote on the X platform on Tuesday evening (local time) that he was withdrawing from the Senate confirmation hearing scheduled for this Thursday. Ingrassia gave the reason that he “unfortunately doesn’t have enough Republican votes at the moment.”

It was not clear from the post whether he had withdrawn his candidacy entirely. However, the portals “Axios” and “Politico” each reported, citing a White House official, that Ingrassia was no longer the government candidate for the office.

Ingrassia was supposed to head the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that protects public service whistleblowers. But “Politico” caused a stir on Monday with a report according to which the 30-year-old described himself as someone with “Nazi tendencies” in a chat group of young Republicans. He is also said to have said that the holiday commemorating the black civil rights activist Martin Luther King belongs in “hell.”

The “Politico” report is part of a series of research in which the portal also evaluated thousands of leaked messages from Telegram chats of the “Young Republicans” – the youth organization of the Republicans. Another report said U.S. Capitol Police were called to a Republican lawmaker’s office because of an American flag with a swastika symbol. The deputy says he has nothing to do with it.

According to Politico, there were numerous racist, anti-Semitic and violence-glorifying comments in the “Young Republicans” chats. One person is said to have written: “I love Hitler”, while another indicated that he wanted to murder political opponents in gas chambers. Vice President JD Vance did not defend the messages, but called them juvenile “stupidities.” According to Politico, most members of the chats are between their mid-20s and mid-30s.

Ingrassia’s lawyer said the texts could have either been manipulated or taken out of context, according to Politico.

Both Democrats and Republicans expressed outrage. After the publication of the report, the leader of the Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to withdraw the nomination of the controversial candidate. He called Ingrassia’s comments “dangerous” and demanded that he “never again hold a leadership position within the Republican Party or the government.”

Schumer’s Republican counterpart in the Senate, John Thune, also expressed hope that the White House would withdraw Ingrassia’s nomination, according to US media.