Trump nominee tapped to lead ethics office withdraws after racist texts

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the US Office of Special Counsel announced Tuesday that he is withdrawing from consideration after reports of racist text messages prompted Republican senators to say they would not support his confirmation.

“I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Paul Ingrassia wrote on the US social media company X’s platform, using the acronym for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!” he added.

The announcement came after Politico reported that Ingrassia, a lawyer and former pro-Trump blogger, wrote in text messages in 2024 that Black civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. “was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.” He also used a racial slur for Black people and said he had “a Nazi streak.”

In one of his messages, Ingrassia also wrote: “Never trust a Chinaman or Indian.”

On Tuesday, Trump hosted several Indian-American officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, in the Oval Office for a Diwali celebration.

Ingrassia was scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee regarding his nomination to lead the independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency on Thursday.