Trump’s Special Counsel Nominee Withdraws After GOP Blowback

Oct. 21, 2025, 11:18 PM UTC

Paul Ingrassia, tapped to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, has withdrawn his nomination after facing resistance in the Senate.

“I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote on X Tuesday evening.

“I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”

Senate Republicans on the committee overseeing Ingrassia’s nomination said this week they didn’t plan to support him after Politico published chat messages said to have been written by the nominee.

The special counsel enforces civil service and whistleblower protections, making it a key figure as federal employees seek to challenge President Donald Trump’s reforms for the government workforce. With the Merit Systems Protection Board back up and running after regaining its quorum, a new special counsel will have to go up against agencies attempts to downsize their workforce and strip employees of civil career protections. The Office of Special Counsel also enforces the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activity of federal employees.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday Ingrassia’s nomination was doomed.

Ingrassia was set to appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday.

The panel in August canceled Ingrassia’s confirmation hearing after some senators began to publicly express concerns about him. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a crucial swing vote, said then that Ingrassia was “unfit to serve” in an interview with Bloomberg Law.

Ingrassia has embraced some of the most polarizing views—and people—in Trump’s orbit. He worked on the legal team for right-wing influencer Andrew Tate, who has been accused of human trafficking in Romania as well as antisemitic remarks. Ingrassia was also spotted in 2024 at a rally for Nick Fuentes, a White nationalist and Holocaust denier who dined with Trump two years earlier.

Former Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger was fired by Trump in February but while litigation over his termination was pending, Dellinger urged agencies to halt firings of probationary employees.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ian Kullgren in Washington at ikullgren@bloombergindustry.com; Lillianna Byington in Washington at lbyington@bloombergindustry.com; Mica Soellner at msoellner@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Ruoff at aruoff@bloombergindustry.com; Liam Quinn at lquinn@bloombergindustry.com

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