Trump’s pick to lead surveillance agency withdraws after text message revelation: NPR

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead a federal surveillance agency was withdrawn Tuesday night, after his offensive text messages were made public and Republican senators revolted.

Paul Ingrassia, who was nominated to head the Office of Special Counsel, was scheduled to have his confirmation hearing this week.

However, on Monday, Politico reported on a text conversation in which he said the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “thrown into the seventh circle of hell.” Ingrassia also described himself in the chat as sometimes having “a Nazi tendency.”

After the texts were revealed, several Republican senators said they would not support his nomination. They included some of Trump’s most conservative and loyal allies in the Senate.

“I will be withdrawing from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia posted in an online message. “I appreciate the overwhelming support I have received throughout the process and will continue to serve President Trump and the administration to make America great again!” HSGAC is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

When asked for comment on Ingrassia’s removal of his name, the White House simply responded: “He is no longer the nominee.” But Ingrassia’s post came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hoped the White House would withdraw Ingrassia’s nomination and several Republican senators said they would not support it.

“I’m no,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who sits on the committee that would have accepted Ingrassia’s nomination. “It should never have gotten this far.”

Republicans managed to crush the vast majority of Trump’s nominees in roll-call votes, despite strong Democratic opposition. But there have been sporadic instances where Republicans have reversed course, usually behind the scenes, showing the limits of their support.

Most notably, Matt Gaetz withdrew as Trump’s first choice for attorney general shortly after being nominated for the position. In May, Trump withdrew the nomination of Ed Martin Jr. to be the nation’s capital’s top federal prosecutor, bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist’s modest legal background and his support of the Jan. 6 rioters.

Last month, the White House announced that it would withdraw the nomination of EJ Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Antoni was supposed to succeed a BLS director who was fired following a disappointing jobs report.

But Democrats weren’t happy with Ingrassia’s removal, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., calling on the president to fire him from his current position as White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security.

“This is nowhere near enough,” Schumer said on social media.

According to texts viewed by Politico, Ingrassia told discussion participants that “MLK Jr. was the George Floyd of the 1960s and his ‘vacation’ should end and be thrown into the seventh circle of hell where they belong.”

Politico spoke with Ingrassia’s lawyer, who said the text messages may have been manipulated or lacked context. The lawyer did not confirm the authenticity of the texts.

The Office of Special Counsel is an investigative and prosecutorial office that works to protect government employees and whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing. He is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities by public officials.

In May, Trump described Ingrassia in a social media post as a “highly respected lawyer, writer and constitutional scholar.”