Paul Ingrassia—President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel—may not be confirmed after his racist and antisemitic messages were unearthed Monday by Politico, leading some Republican senators to repudiate him.
In the private text messages, Ingrassia, a MAGA attorney and podcaster, said he has a “Nazi streak,” and that he believes Martin Luther King Jr. Day ought to be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” He also called for an end to other holidays that celebrate Black history, which he referred to using an Italian slur for Black people.
While Ingrassia has an extensive public record of MAGA extremism, these private messages were a bridge too far for some Senate Republicans.
One of them is Majority Leader John Thune, who told reporters Monday night that Ingrassia is “not going to pass,” and that he hopes the White House withdraws his nomination.
Senator Rick Scott similarly said, “I don’t plan on voting for him.” Senator James Lankford told reporters he has “tons of questions for him when he comes on Thursday, but I can’t imagine supporting that.” Senator Ron Johnson told HuffPost he hopes the Trump administration pulls the nomination as well.
Prior to the scandal, Senator Thom Tillis already said he would oppose Ingrassia’s nomination, citing the nominee’s comments about the January 6 Capitol riot, as well as “a number of other things.”
Assuming full Democratic opposition, Ingrassia can only afford to lose three Republican votes before Vice President JD Vance would have to step in to break the tie. Four Republicans opposing him would tank the nomination.
Scott, Johnson, Lankford are also all on the 15-member (8 Republicans, 7 Democrats) Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has a confirmation hearing for Ingrassia scheduled for Thursday. Ingrassia needs a simple majority of the panel’s votes to advance his nomination to the full Senate.
The post Four Republicans Turn Against Trump Nominee After Nazi Texts Revealed appeared first on New Republic.
