Two Democratic committee leaders are urging the Senate to reject the nomination of Paul Ingrassia to lead a top whistleblower office, calling him \u201cunfit\u201d for the role and arguing he would help the Trump administration \u201ctraumatize the federal workforce and consolidate unchecked power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrassia, a former podcast host, was nominated last month<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The 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 \u2014 fighting unlawful firings and serving as an outlet for whistleblowers.<\/p>\n Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, respectively, said Ingrassia would not tackle either mission \u201cwithout fear or favor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[OSC] is an independent guardian of accountability within the executive branch. Mr. Ingrassia\u2019s 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,\u201d Garcia and Raskin wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not simply unqualified \u2014 his confirmation would pose a direct threat to federal whistleblowers, the credibility of the OSC, and the integrity of our oversight institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ingrassia has called Tate, who has been charged with human trafficking in Romania as well as rape in the United Kingdom, the \u201cembodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2020, he said it was \u201ctime for @realDonaldTrump to declare martial law and secure his re-election.\u201d <\/p>\n He also said in December that Trump should \u201coffer reparations to the tune of $1 million per family (at least)\u201d for Jan. 6 defendants. <\/p>\n The letter notes 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.<\/p>\n Various outlets have reported Ingrassia walked the halls of the Justice Department telling people he was the “eyes and ears”<\/a> of the White House and clashed with leadership as he pushed to hire those with “exceptional loyalty”<\/a> to Trump.<\/p>\n Garcia and Raskin noted numerous Trump officials were cited for Hatch Act violations during Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n The lawmakers also expressed fear for whistleblowers, who often report matters to the OSC if they fear they will face retribution at their own agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen 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. <\/p>\n Yet Mr. Ingrassia has time and again made clear that he is blindly loyal to the President\u2014a view that is utterly disqualifying for any position of public trust, but particularly one charged with defending the rights of whistleblowers,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n The White House defended their selection in a Thursday statement.<\/p>\n \u201cPaul 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\u2019s agenda,\u201d White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n His departure also meant the end of the OSC\u2019s battle to protect fired probationary workers, and the office has since shifted its position on the matter.<\/p>\n