Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0nomination of a conservative attorney and commentator to oversee federal whistleblower protections appeared to be collapsing after his racist text messages surfaced this week and the Republican Senate leader suggested the White House should withdraw the pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul Ingrassia, currently a White House liaison at the Department of Homeland Security, previously advocated for making 6 January a national holiday<\/a>and publicly questioned whether the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack was a \u201cpsyop\u201d. But the fans were flamed again on Monday after Politico reported text messages<\/a> in which Ingrassia allegedly described himself as having \u201ca Nazi streak\u201d and suggested Martin Luther King Jr Day should be \u201ctossed into the seventh circle of hell\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When reporters asked whether the administration should pull Ingrassia\u2019s nomination to lead the office of special counsel, John Thune, the Senate majority leader, responded on Monday: \u201cI think so. He\u2019s not going to pass\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least three GOP senators on the homeland security committee indicated they will vote against Ingrassia when his confirmation hearing proceeds on Thursday: Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and James Lankford of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t plan on voting for him,\u201d Scott told reporters. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine how anybody can be antisemitic in this country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nominee can afford to lose only three Republican votes on the homeland security committee, which Republicans control by a single seat. Democrats are expected to vote unanimously against the confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edward Paltzik, an attorney representing Ingrassia, questioned the authenticity of the messages to Politico, and suggested they could be AI-generated. He labeled them as \u201cself-deprecating\u201d and \u201csatirical humor\u201d, adding that his client is \u201cthe furthest thing from a Nazi\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n