Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Paul Ingrassia official portrait
(JNS) — Ingrassia was named deputy general counsel of the General Services Administration after he withdrew his nomination to the Office of Special Counsel in the face of bipartisan Senate opposition following a series of texts, in which he said, “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
In the text messages, he also said that Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell” and that people should “never trust a Chinaman or Indian.”
In a letter to Michael Rigas, acting GSA administrator, and Dan Scavino, director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, six of the seven Democratic committee members said that Ingrassia had no business serving in the Trump administration.
“Let us be clear. Mr. Ingrassia’s continued employment in the U.S. government is unacceptable,” the lawmakers wrote. “His appointment betrays the trust of every American, including those whom Mr. Ingrassia has so brazenly disparaged.”
“We demand the immediate removal of Paul Ingrassia from the General Services Administration and from consideration for any other position in this administration,” they added. (JNS sought comment from the GSA.)
The letter was signed by six of the seven committee Democrats. The seventh, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told JNS that his office was unaware of the letter but holds the position of his colleagues.
“I do not support Mr. Ingrassia and believe he is unfit to serve in an office of public trust,” Fetterman told JNS.
Lawmakers said that there were hundreds of statements from Ingrassia “directing hatred and discrimination towards women and black, Asian, Muslim, Jewish and Indian Americans, among others.”
The senators also said Ingrassia reportedly intervened in an investigation of alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate. Tate has used “unabashedly antisemitic rhetoric, perpetuating Holocaust revisionism, spreading conspiracy theories about Israel, praising Hamas, performing Nazi salutes and encouraging people to embrace and openly engage in racism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Ingrassia also appeared at a rally with Holocaust denier and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, whose appearance with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has set off concerns among Republicans about right-wing antisemitism. He also once described the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as a “psyop,” short for psychological operation.
“Mr. Ingrassia has shown that he will use his power to advance interests of alleged sex traffickers and antisemites,” the senators wrote. “He cannot be trusted to hold any government position.”
