Overview
- Politico reported, and said it corroborated with multiple participants, that Paul Ingrassia wrote in private texts that he has a “Nazi streak” and that Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” using slurs and calling for Black commemorations to be “eviscerated.”
- Ingrassia’s attorney disputed the texts’ authenticity and context, citing the risk of doctored or AI‑manipulated messages and asserting the remarks were satirical.
- Thune declared “he’s not going to pass,” as Republican Senators Rick Scott, Ron Johnson and James Lankford publicly signaled opposition and pressed for the nomination to be pulled.
- The confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee remains scheduled for Thursday, though a single GOP defection alongside unanimous Democratic opposition could block advancement at the panel.
- The post oversees whistleblower protections and civil‑service enforcement, and Ingrassia already faced scrutiny over far‑right associations and a previously reported sexual‑harassment allegation that his lawyer has denied.