**Paul Ingrassia Resigns Two Days Before Hearing… A Trump Appointee Rejected Even by Republicans**
**”Go to Hell on Martin Luther King Day” Messages Revealed, Sparking Opposition Even from the Ruling Party**
[Herald Economy, Reporter Jung Mok-hee] The nominee selected by U.S. President Donald Trump for director of the federal government’s Office of Special Counsel (OSC) withdrew after past racially discriminatory chat messages were disclosed.
The individual in question, Paul Ingrassia, decided to voluntarily resign on the 21st, ahead of the Senate confirmation hearing scheduled for the 23rd (local time), as opposition grew even within the ruling Republican Party.
Ingrassia announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that night, saying, “I will withdraw from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing this Thursday,” and added, “Unfortunately, I have not secured enough Republican votes at this time.” He continued, “Nevertheless, I am grateful for the overwhelming support and will continue to serve President Trump and the administration to make America great again.”
A White House official confirmed his resignation, stating, “He is no longer a nominee,” as reported by political media outlet Politico.
According to Politico, Ingrassia had posted derogatory comments about Martin Luther King Jr., a symbol of the Black civil rights movement, in a chat with Republican officials last January. He wrote, “MLK Jr. is like the George Floyd of the 1960s. His holiday should be abolished and thrown into the seventh hell where it belongs.” He also used derogatory Italian expressions for Black people, arguing that “there should be no holidays for Black people.”
In another message, Ingrassia admitted, “I sometimes acknowledge my inner Nazi tendencies,” and commented on Indian descent GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, saying, “Never trust Chinese or Indians.”
Politico reported, based on interviews with two participants in the chat, that one of them had kept the entire conversation and that the phone number from which the messages were sent matched that of nominee Ingrassia.
Ingrassia’s lawyer countered, saying, “It’s difficult to verify the authenticity of the messages,” and claimed “some individuals hiding behind anonymity are acting with malicious personal intent to harm the nominee,” but this was not enough to quell the controversy.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune stated to reporters, “He will not pass the confirmation,” and Republican Senators Rick Scott (Florida) and Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) also expressed their opposition to his confirmation.
This is not the first resignation of a federal major position nominee during Trump’s second term. Previously, Matt Gaetz, nominee for Attorney General, and Ed Martin Jr., nominee for U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C., had also resigned before or after their confirmation hearings.
Meanwhile, the OSC, an independent federal agency overseeing misconduct among public officials, is currently led by acting director Jamieson Greer from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), following the vacancy in the director position.