Senate Republicans signal strong opposition to Paul Ingrassia's nomination to lead the O.S.C, citing controversial text messages and growing backlash. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has stated the nomination is unlikely to pass, and several Republican senators have already announced their intention to vote against it.
Some Senate Republicans on Monday indicated the nominee, Paul Ingrassia , would not successfully make it through the Senate .The development comes amid growing backlash to Ingrassia from Senate Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Monday told reporters that his nomination was"not going to pass" and that he thought the White House should pull it.Asked by NBC News on Tuesday whether he thinks the White House will pull the nomination, Thune said: “I think they'll have something official to say about that, but you know, you know what we've said, and you'll probably hear from them soon.” Ingrassia would need to get support from a simple majority of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Republicans hold an 8-7 advantage, to advance to the full Senate. Three Republican senators on the panel have said they will oppose Ingrassia, meaning his nomination would not advance to the full Senate. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have all told reporters they intend to vote against Ingrassia. Trump had nominated Ingrassia to lead the O.S.C, an independent agency that protects federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, such as retaliation for whistleblowing., Politico reported on a text chat in which Ingrassia allegedly sent messages saying he had a “Nazi streak” and that Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed in the seventh circle of hell.”White House official pushes back on report that Trump is considering pardoning Diddy Ingrassia’s lawyer on Monday night pointed to a previous statement denying Ingrassia had “harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment.” The lawyer, Edward Paltzik, suggested the text messages reported on on Monday may not be authentic, and added that “even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor.” Lankford, in telling reporters Tuesday morning that he's a"no" on Ingrassia's nomination, said, “I think it’d be very difficult for a lot of federal employees to be able to say he’s impartial when he says things like, ‘Never trust an Indian,’ the comments he’s made about Jews.”Another Republican senator on the committee, Joni Ernst of Iowa, declined to say how she would vote but said Monday that Ingrassia would have “an uphill battle.” Ingrassia had a history of inflammatory comments even before this. The former podcaster came under fire for saying Jan. 6, 2021 — when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election —, calling it “a peaceful protest against a great injustice.” He had also called Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel a “psyop.” Ingrassia’s nomination, initially scheduled for July, was abruptly removed from the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s website after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who does not sit on that committee, said he would oppose his confirmation based on his comments on Jan. 6 and “a number of other things.”
Paul Ingrassia Senate Nomination Republican Party Controversy
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Trump Nominee Paul Ingrassia Said He Has a ‘Nazi Streak’: Report Ingrassia's reported texts come just one week after a number of Young Republicans were implicated in a scandal over leaked chat messages.
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‘He’s not going to pass’: Thune says controversial Trump nominee for whistleblower office won’t be confirmedPaul Ingrassia’s nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel is dead on arrival in the Senate, per Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who declared Monday night that “he’s not going to pass” after Politico reported on racist text messages allegedly sent by Ingrassia to a group chat.
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Trump nominee Ingrassia hits trouble over inflammatory textsPresident Donald Trump's pick to lead an office charged with protecting whistleblowers appears to be in jeopardy. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he hopes the White House withdraws Paul Ingrassia's nomination. The growing opposition to Ingrassia comes after a Politico report of a text chat that showed him saying the Martin Luther King Jr.
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Thune indicates Paul Ingrassia's nomination in serious trouble: 'He's not going to pass'Ingrassia's Senate confirmation hearing is set for Thursday.
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Trump’s nominee to lead a watchdog agency hits trouble over MLK and ‘Nazi streak’ text messagesSenate Majority Leader John Thune said he hoped the White House would withdraw the nomination.
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Trump’s nominee to lead a watchdog agency hits trouble over MLK and ‘Nazi streak’ text messagesSenate Majority Leader John Thune says he hopes the White House withdraws Paul Ingrassia’s nomination.
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