Overview
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Paul Ingrassia “will not make it” and pressed the White House to pull the nomination.
- At least three GOP senators—Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and James Lankford of Oklahoma—have announced opposition or strong doubts.
- Politico reported group texts attributed to Ingrassia that included calling Martin Luther King Jr. Day worthy of the “seventh circle of hell” and claiming he had “a Nazi side.”
- Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, declined to authenticate the messages and said they could be manipulated or missing crucial context.
- With Republicans able to lose only three votes before a potential tie-break by Vice President JD Vance, the path is narrow as Ingrassia remains slated to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, following earlier scrutiny over a withdrawn intimidation complaint.