Trump’s pick to lead federal surveillance agency withdrew after revelations of offensive text messages

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead a federal watchdog agency withdrew from consideration Tuesday evening, after his offensive text messages became public and GOP senators revolted.

Paul Ingrassia, who has been nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel, was scheduled to hold his confirmation hearing this week.

WATCH: What to know about Trump’s withdrawal nominee who reportedly said he had a ‘Nazi streak’

However, Politico reported Monday in a text conversation that showed him saying the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “thrown into the seventh circle of hell.” Ingrassia also described himself in the chat as having a “Nazi streak” at times.

After the texts emerged, several Republican senators said they would not support his nomination. They included some of Trump’s most conservative and powerful allies in the Senate.

“I will be withdrawing from Thursday’s HSGAC session to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia posted in an online message. “I appreciate the overwhelming support I have received throughout the process and will continue to serve President Trump and the Administration to Make America Great Again!” HSGAC is the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Asked to comment on Ingrassia’s withdrawal from the nomination, the White House simply said: “He is no longer the nominee.” But Ingrassia’s post came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hoped the White House would withdraw Ingrassia’s nomination, and several GOP senators said they would not support him.

“I refuse,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who was on the committee that would have nominated Ingrassia. “It never should have come to this.”

Republicans were able to defeat the vast majority of Trump’s nominees in the roll call vote despite strong Democratic opposition.

But there have been isolated instances when Republicans have backed off, generally behind the scenes, showing that there are limits to their support.

It is worth noting that Matt Gaetz withdrew from his position as Trump’s first choice for attorney general shortly after he was appointed to the position. In May, Trump withdrew his nomination of Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist’s modest legal experience and his support for the Jan. 6 rioters.

Last month, the White House announced it was withdrawing the nomination of EJ Anthony to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Anthony was supposed to succeed the BLS director who was fired after a disappointing jobs report.

But Democrats were not satisfied with Ingrassia’s withdrawal, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, calling on the president to remove him from his current position as White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security.

“This is not close enough,” Schumer said on social media.

According to transcripts seen by POLITICO, Ingrassia told chat participants that “MLK Jr. was like George Floyd in the 1960s and his vacation should end and be thrown into the 7th circle of hell where she belongs.”

Politico spoke with Ingrassia’s lawyer, who said the text messages may have been tampered with or lost their context. The lawyer did not confirm the authenticity of the texts.

The Office of Special Counsel is an investigative and prosecutorial office that works to protect government employees and whistleblowers from retaliation for whistleblowing. It is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities of government employees.

In May, Trump described Ingrassia in a social media post as a “highly respected attorney, writer, and constitutional scholar.”

Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.