Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, is under fire after a report by Politico revealed racist and antisemitic comments he made in private text messages with Republican operatives.
Ingrassia allegedly said the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell” and described himself as having “a Nazi streak.”
The texts, verified by Politico through multiple participants, also show Ingrassia using slurs and disparaging remarks toward Black and Asian people, as well as expressing admiration for controversial far-right figures. His attorney dismissed the messages as “satirical humor” and questioned their authenticity, but the revelations have added to growing controversy surrounding Ingrassia, who already faces scrutiny over past behavior and associations ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.
The report about Ingrassia’s text messages comes just one week after a number of Young Republicans have been implicated in a scandal over racist, antisemitic and misogynistic comments in leaked chat messages.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Monday for comment.
Why It Matters
The Office of Special Counsel is a federal agency tasked with investigating federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination claims.
The controversy surrounding Ingrassia arrives amid mounting questions about his fitness for the position.
Republican senators have already expressed concerns about his background, experience, and possible antisemitism, with one senator delaying his nomination hearing in July citing concerns about “some statements about antisemitism.”
“This big thing for our state is, he’s had some statements about antisemitism,” Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said in a July interview with Politico about his questions for the nominee.
The allegations are particularly significant given that the agency he would lead is designed to protect employees from the very types of discrimination and harassment described in the text messages.
What To Know: The Text Messages
According to Politico, the text messages involve a group chat with approximately a dozen Republican operatives and influencers. Beyond the MLK comments, Ingrassia allegedly wrote “Never trust a chinaman or Indian” in reference to former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
In another exchange, he stated: “We need competent white men in positions of leadership. … The founding fathers were wrong that all men are created equal.” He also posted images of Founding Fathers into the chat and wrote: “We should celebrate white men and western civilization and I will never back down from that.”
When other group chat participants pushed back against his rhetoric, Ingrassia reportedly dismissed their concerns. One participant warned him that his comments made him “sound like a scumbag.” Another said he was adopting a “white nationalist” tone and that he “reflexively went to saying whites built the country,” to which Ingrassia replied, “They did.”
The messages also document Ingrassia’s associations with controversial figures. According to the reporting, one participant referred to him as “Paul Adolf Ingrassia” and referenced white nationalist Nick Fuentes, to which Ingrassia responded “Lmao.”
The messages indicate that Ingrassia attended a Fuentes rally one month after making the “Nazi” comment in the group chat, though he later claimed he didn’t know who had organized the event and soon left.
Sexual Harassment Allegations and Hotel Room Incident
Politico reported a separate incident in late July at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando that resulted in an official investigation.
According to five administration officials, Ingrassia arrived with a lower-ranking female colleague from DHS and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room. Ingrassia informed her that she would be staying with him, and according to three officials, Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him.
The woman initially protested the arrangement but relented to avoid causing a scene around other colleagues. The two shared a room and slept in separate beds. Politico notes that “what’s not disputed is that the two ended up sharing a room on the business trip, and that it resulted in an official investigation.”
According to Politico’s reporting, the woman filed a human resources complaint against Ingrassia before retracting it days later, fearing retaliation. However, five administration officials told Politico she had complained to them that Ingrassia was making her feel uncomfortable and that it was hurting her ability to do her job. The woman later issued a statement saying she “never felt uncomfortable” about Ingrassia’s behavior and that she had “never made a complaint,” adding that “a colleague misjudged the situation and made claims of alleged harassment that are not true.”
According to two of the officials granted anonymity by Politico, the woman filed her own complaint after a career official initially filed one. In addition to the Florida incident, the woman’s complaint expressed that she wanted “Ingrassia to start speaking to her in a more professional manner.”
Two officials told Politico they were interviewed in September by the DHS inspector general about allegations of sexual harassment involving Ingrassia. After the Florida incident, Ingrassia’s federal employee badge and access to DHS headquarters were revoked from August 27 to September 2, according to two officials. Ingrassia is now back in the building. Presidential personnel director Sergio Gor spoke to Ingrassia following the incident.
What People Are Saying
Edward Andrew Paltzik, Ingrassia’s Attorney: “Even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’ In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi.”
On authentication: “In this age of AI, authentication of allegedly leaked messages, which could be outright falsehoods, doctored, or manipulated, or lacking critical context, is extremely difficult.”
Anonymous Group Chat Participant told Politico that Ingrassia’s personality shifted after becoming a Trump loyalist and that he rejected advice from “very influential people” attempting to moderate his statements: “Very influential people were trying to give him advice on how to be, and he threw that advice right back at them and basically said, ‘F*** you. Look at me. I can write a Substack and get it posted by the president.'”
What Happens Next?
Ingrassia’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday, where he will likely face intense questioning about the text messages, antisemitism allegations and the hotel room incident.
