Democrats urge spiking of Trump watchdog nominee who would ‘traumatize' workforce

The Hill

6 hours ago

Two Democratic committee leaders are urging the Senate to reject the nomination of Paul Ingrassia to lead a top whistleblower office, calling him 'unfit' for the role and arguing he would help the Trump administration 'traumatize the federal workforce and consolidate unchecked power.'
Ingrassia, a former podcast host, was nominated last month to lead the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC). He has come under fire for a series of controversial remarks about Jan. 6, 2021, as well as his praise for other right-wing figures.
OSC is a unique office within government, one with a dual mission to both enforce the electioneering prohibitions of the Hatch Act and to protect federal employees — fighting unlawful firings and serving as an outlet for whistleblowers.
Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, said Ingrassia would not tackle either mission 'without fear or favor.'
'[OSC] is an independent guardian of accountability within the executive branch. Mr. Ingrassia's loyalty to Donald Trump over the Constitution, his calls for imposing martial law and celebrating violent January 6th insurrectionists, and his close associations with antisemitic extremists all make it clear that he lacks the temperament, experience, and fundamental constitutional fidelity required to lead this office,' Garcia and Raskin, the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, wrote in the letter.
'He is not simply unqualified — his confirmation would pose a direct threat to federal whistleblowers, the credibility of the OSC, and the integrity of our oversight institutions.'
Ingrassia was previously a writer for the Daily Caller and hosted the podcast Right On Point. He is also an attorney and served on the legal team representing self-described misogynist Andrew Tate.
Ingrassia has called Tate, who has been charged with human trafficking in Romania as well as rape in the United Kingdom, the 'embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.'
In 2020, he said it was 'time for @realDonaldTrump to declare martial law and secure his re-election.'
He also said in December that Trump should 'offer reparations to the tune of $1 million per family (at least)' for Jan. 6 defendants.
The letter notes that Ingrassia graduated law school three years ago and describes him as being fired from a job at the Justice Department he had at the start of the Trump administration.
Various outlets have reported Ingrassia walked the halls of DOJ telling people he was the 'eyes and ears' of the White House and clashed with leadership as he pushed to hire those with 'exceptional loyalty' to Trump.
Garcia and Raskin noted numerous Trump officials were cited for Hatch Act violations during Trump's first term.
'It is hard to imagine a nominee less likely to enforce the Hatch Act in a fair and even-handed way if an investigation implicated anyone close to the Trump Administration,' they wrote.
The lawmakers also expressed fear for whistleblowers, who often report matters to OSC if they fear they will face retribution at their own agencies.
'When whistleblowers come forward, they are speaking truth to power. They do so at great personal risk to bring transparency where secrecy and misconduct might otherwise prevail.
Yet Mr. Ingrassia has time and again made clear that he is blindly loyal to the President—a view that is utterly disqualifying for any position of public trust, but particularly one charged with defending the rights of whistleblowers,' they wrote.
The White House defended their selection in a Thursday statement.
'Paul Ingrassia is a respected attorney who has served President Trump exceptionally well and will continue to do so as the next head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The eleventh-hour smear campaign will not deter the President from supporting this nomination, and the administration continues to have full confidence in his ability to advance the President's agenda,' said White House spokesman Harrison Fields.
Trump fired previous special counsel Hampton Dellinger, despite his Senate confirmation to a five-year term, amid his battle to restore fired federal workers to their posts after the Trump administration booted federal workers still in their probationary period.
Dellinger, who sued to keep this job, was initially reinstated to his post, but ended his legal battle after an appeals court declined to keep him in his role while the case continued.
His departure also meant the end of the OSC's battle to protect fired probationary workers, and the office has since shifted its position on the matter.
The Thursday letter is the first from Garcia since his election to serve as the ranking member of the Oversight Committee.
A hearing date for Ingrassia has not yet been set by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but the lawmakers encouraged the panel to reject his nomination.
'President Trump wants to appoint Mr. Ingrassia because he knows that this nominee will treat treasonous, secessionist rhetoric as acceptable political discourse; reward extremism instead of condemning it; and work to tear down, not build up, the democratic institutions we have sworn to protect,' the two lawmakers wrote.
'The ultimate victims of Mr. Ingrassia's installation as special counsel would be the brave civil servant whistleblowers, the credibility of the federal workforce and civil servants, and the American people they serve.'