Democrats argue Ingrassia should be removed from government following nomination withdrawal

Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Tuesday demanded that the Trump administration remove Paul Ingrassia from his appointment at the General Services Administration. 

The president in October withdrew his nomination of Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel due to objections from Senate Republicans following reports that he has been accused of sexual harassment and wrote in texts that he has a “Nazi streak” and Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” among other racist messages.  

Shortly thereafter, however, Politico reported that he was being installed as the deputy general counsel at GSA. Ingrassia had been serving as the White House liaison to the Homeland Security Department. 

“Mr. Ingrassia’s reappointment to a senior position embraces the very hatred this administration [purports] to combat,” the Senate Democrats wrote in their letter to acting GSA Administrator Michael Rigas and Office of Presidential Personnel Director Dan Scavino. “To the contrary, the Trump administration’s continued support for Mr. Ingrassia and its multiple attempts to find a place for him in this government betray a concerning willingness to support and, intended or not, promote his extremist, misogynist and antisemitic views.”

Ingrassia has a history of making public comments like:

• Backing martial law following Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. 
• Referring to 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley as an “insufferable b—-”
• Calling Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel a “psyop,” which stands for psychological operation.  

The letter also references a Nov. 18 report from ProPublica that found Ingrassia, while working for the White House, told DHS officials to return electronic devices belonging to Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist influencer who has been accused of sex trafficking in other countries. 

Ingrassia, who graduated from law school in 2022, is currently listed on GSA’s website as the acting general counsel, leading a team of more than 100 attorneys at the agency. 

The Senate Democrats requested that they receive a briefing from GSA and OPP by Dec. 9 and that the agencies, by Dec. 12, answer written questions generally about the appointment process for Ingrassia. 

The letter is signed by all Democrats on the panel, except for Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. The senator said in a statement to Government Executive that his office was unaware of the letter but that he believes Ingrassia is “unfit to serve in an office of public trust.” 

GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.