Overview

• Politico reported that Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison to DHS and Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, allegedly arranged the cancellation of a junior colleague’s hotel room in July so she would have to share his room.
• Multiple officials told Politico the pair ultimately shared a room at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando and slept in separate beds after the colleague initially protested at check-in.
• A DHS spokesperson said career human resources personnel investigated the episode and found no wrongdoing.
• Reporting says a career official filed a complaint and the woman later filed and retracted her own, reportedly out of fear of retaliation, while Ingrassia’s attorney and the woman deny harassment occurred.
• The disclosure intensifies scrutiny of Ingrassia’s nomination, which already faced concerns from some Republicans over his experience and past ties and commentary highlighted in prior media reports.