Several Senate Democrats wrote to acting Administrator of the General Services Administration Michael Rigas and Office of Presidential Personnel Director Dan Scavino on Tuesday to demand the removal of embattled administration staffer Paul Ingrassia from the GSA.
The coalition of senators — which included Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) — stated that they were “deeply disturbed” and wished for the “immediate removal” of Ingrassia from his new position as the GSA’s deputy general counsel.
“Let us be clear,” the senators argued, “Mr. Ingrassia’s continued employment in the U.S. government is unacceptable. His appointment betrays the trust of every American, including those who Mr. Ingrassia has so brazenly disparaged.”
“We demand the immediate removal of Paul Ingrassia from the General Services Administration and from consideration for any other position in this Administration,” the letter added. “The Administration should act immediately to affirm that it will not condone this hate and discrimination in our government.”
The senators’ remarks come after Ingrassia’s Senate confirmation to lead the Office of Special Counsel was postponed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in July following concerns over his limited legal experience and links to online extremists.
After Ingrassia lost support from Republicans on the committee, including Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), and Ron Johnson (R-WI), in October after antisemitic and racist text messages allegedly sent by Ingrassia were leaked, he moved to withdraw his nomination.
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The texts read, “[There is a] Nazi streak in me from time to time,” and said federal holidays such as Juneteenth that celebrate African Americans should be “eviscerated.”
Ingrassia transitioned to his current role in November after serving as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security.