Paul Ingrassia is a college graduate and a lawyer. At Cornell Law School, he served as Senior Online Editor of the Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy. After law school, Ingrassia worked as a law clerk at a New York law firm (McBride Law Firm, PLLC). He also began building a profile as a conservative media commentator and writer. He contributed to outlets like The Gateway Pundit, a far‑right website, where he wrote political commentary. Ingrassia served as Director of Communications for the National Constitutional Law Union (NCLU), a conservative legal advocacy group. Ingrassia is 30 years old.
I say all this to say that Ingrassia is not a boy, lest J.D. Vance feel compelled to rush to his defense as he did the Young Republicans when a group chat spanning several months was leaked by one of its members and showed several state leaders to be racist.
On January 20, 2025, Ingrassia was appointed White House Liaison to the Department of Justice. In February 2025, he shifted to become White House Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — his first formal role inside the Trump administration. On June 16, 2025, the Senate received confirmation of Donald Trump nominating Ingrassia to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) — an independent agency tasked with protecting federal whistleblowers and investigating political coercion. Because this Republican-controlled Senate rejects almost none of Trump’s nominees, Ingrassia appeared to have smooth sailing to confirmation, until he didn’t. On October 20, 2025, Politico published a series of leaked texts from 2024 to 2025 showing Ingrassia to be racist, antisemitic, and extremist. He was turned in by an anonymous participant in the chat who wanted “the government to be staffed with experienced people who are taken seriously.”
Here are some of the things Ingrassia had to say:
“I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,”
“Never trust a chinaman or Indian, NEVER!”
“Blacks behave that way because that’s their natural state … You can’t change them.”
“Proof: all of Africa is a shithole, and will always be that way.”
“We should celebrate white men and western civilization and I will never back down from that,”
“We need competent white men in positions of leadership. … The founding fathers were wrong that all men are created equal … We need to reject that part of our heritage,”
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs,”
“No moulignon holidays … From kwanza to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenth. Every single one needs to be eviscerated.”
Ingrassia got pushback within the text chain. In response to some of his messages, at least one member left the chat group.
“I will not be posting on this thread going forward. There are enemies in this group. Please take my name out of this thread.”
Another tried to save him from himself:
“You’re gunna be in private practice one day this shit will be around forever brother.”
One person suggested he join Steve Bannon in the Hitler Youth.
“Paul belongs in the Hitler Youth with Ubergruppenfuhrer Steve Bannon.”
Apparently, the Senate had an inkling of Ingrassia’s leanings, pushing back his nomination hearing from July. Some Senators were concerned about his youth and inexperience, and some antisemitic statements. They were prepared to go forward, scheduling a hearing for Thursday, October 23, 2025, until the bomb dropped and his statements were released for the world to see.
Senator Ron Johnson said Trump should withdraw the nomination and make it known that Ingrassia doesn’t have his support. Rick Scott and James Lankford have also withdrawn support. Losing even one Republican vote would cause the nomination to die in committee. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said bluntly: “He’s not going to pass.”
The Ingrassia nomination appears dead in the water, though Trump has yet to withdraw it. It’s nice to know that Republicans found a line they would not cross. Several other Trump nominees over two terms survived accusations of racism and were still confirmed. The Senate just completed a mass confirmation of 48 Trump nominees, some of whom were accused of having made racist statements. Darren Beattie was confirmed for a State Department role after having said this:
“Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work,” — Darren Beattie
The collapse of Ingrassia’s nomination is more than a personal embarrassment; it is a rare reminder that even in an era when extremism is often excused or ignored, there are still boundaries that cannot be crossed without consequence. That it took openly racist, antisemitic, and self‑described “Nazi” rhetoric to draw a line says much about how far the bar has been lowered. Yet the Senate’s rejection of Ingrassia also underscores a truth worth holding onto: public exposure and accountability still matter, and when the record is undeniable, even the most partisan bodies can be forced to act.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.