A Trump nominee said he has a ‘Nazi streak.’ Will he still get a key administration role?

Paul Ingrassia on Jan. 20. Photo by Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh October 21, 2025

Sign up for Antisemitism Decoded, the Forward’s guide through the news and noise about Jewish safety, brought to you biweekly by investigative journalist Arno Rosenfeld.

Another nominee set to be promoted in President Donald Trump’s administration is facing scrutiny after past remarks expressing admiration for Nazis surfaced ahead of his confirmation hearing.

Several top Republican senators have already pledged to block the nomination of Paul Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel, following revelations of racist and antisemitic comments he made over text message. The office enforces the Hatch Act, which bans federal employees from taking part in certain political activities and protects government whistleblowers.

Ingrassia already holds a position in the administration, serving as a White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security.

According to a Politico report, Ingrassia wrote in May 2024 that he has “a Nazi streak from time to time” in a chat of six GOP operatives and influencers. The comment came after another chat participant joked that Ingrassia “belongs in the Hitler Youth with Obergruppenführer Steve Bannon” — portraying the Republican strategist instrumental in Trump’s 2016 victory, who remains influential within the MAGA movement, as having a senior Nazi paramilitary rank.

Another participant also suggested that Ingrassia do a joint show with Nick Fuentes, an avowed white nationalist and Holocaust denier, on Rumble, a video platform that has amplified far-right antisemitism and Holocaust denial. Fuentes maintains an active Rumble page featuring his live shows, which are filled with antisemitic and anti-Israel content.

“Lmao,” Ingrassia replied.

In April 2023, Ingrassia published a blog post titled “Free Nick Fuentes,” urging Elon Musk to reinstate Fuentes’ X account after he was banned in 2021 for repeated violations of the platform’s content rules. Ingrassia was also reportedly in attendance at a 2024 rally at which Fuentes declared, “Down with Israel.”

Ingrassia, who also faces allegations of sexual harassment, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday as part of his confirmation process. Last month, a group of 13 Jewish organizations sent a letter to the committee urging members to scrutinize Ingrassia’s “support for extremist views and individuals” and expressing doubt about his qualifications.

“He’s not going to pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Monday.

Ingrassia’s attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, initially dismissed the texts as satire meant to mock liberals who call Trump supporters Nazis. “In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community,” he told Politico, “because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi.”

Paltzik later suggested, without evidence, that the messages might have been AI-generated or doctored to damage Ingrassia’s reputation.

Ingrassia is the latest in a line of Trump administration appointees who have been scrutinized for remarks offensive to Jews and other minorities. Trump withdrew the nominations of some of his candidates amid outrage.

It also follows recent incidents of high-profile right-wing antisemitism, including the discovery of a Republican staffer displaying a swastika at his desk on Capitol Hill and the leak of a Telegram chat involving Young Republican activists trading antisemitic rhetoric, including informal references to Hitler and the Holocaust.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York and co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, called on the White House to pull Ingrassia’s nomination. “As I’ve said many times: If President Trump were truly serious about combating antisemitism, he would start with his own administration,” Nadler wrote on X.