Paul Ingrassia, a Donald Trump loyalist who allegedly admitted to having a “Nazi streak,” has reportedly been given a top job in the president’s administration.
Ingrassia, 30, became the center of a major scandal just weeks ago after he was accused of sending text messages in which he said that holidays from “kwanza to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenth” must be “eviscerated.”
The political firestorm that followed knocked Ingrassia out of the running to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
However, a recent email, sent by Ingrassia and obtained by Politico, claimed that the 30-year-old was set to become deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration. The GSA oversees the most basic, fundamental functions of federal agencies by managing government property and supplies.
In the email, which was sent on Thursday, Ingrassia said that it had been an ‘honor’ to serve under Kristi Noem in the Department of Homeland Security, where he has worked as a White House liaison since February.
“It’s been the greatest honor to serve Secretary Noem and President Trump, alongside all of you,” he wrote. “I genuinely feel this is the strongest group of political appointees anywhere in the federal government, which is a credit to not just this group’s work ethic, but above all, its character and integrity.”
According to Politico, a White House official confirmed the controversial staffer’s promotion and said that Ingrassia is “a very helpful addition to GSA and will successfully execute President Trump’s America First policies.”
A GSA spokesperson also told the website that the department was looking “forward to having Paul Ingrassia’s legal talents to help advance the GSA mission and the President’s priorities.”
Ingrassia became widely known in October, after Politico obtained the alleged string of racist text messages. One of the messages included using an Italian racial slur for Black people, and another stated that “MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”
His lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, hit out against the allegations and suggested that they could have been intended to be “satirical.”
“Looks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted,” he wrote in a statement seen by Politico.
“However, arguendo, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’”
The scandal led Senate Majority Leader John Thune to say that he hoped that Ingrassia would withdraw his nomination for the Office of Special Counsel, as he was “not gonna pass” his confirmation.
Ingrassia was also accused of sexual harassment, after he allegedly booked himself and a female colleague into a shared hotel room on a joint trip, according to Politico.
The colleague eventually slept in the same room as Ingrassia, but slept in a separate bed, according to five administration officials who spoke to the publication. Three of those officials also told Politico that the unnamed female colleague had filed an HR complaint against Ingrassia but retracted it, fearing retaliation.
Ingrassia’s lawyer denied the allegations in a letter to the newspaper.
“Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment,” Edward Andrew Paltzik wrote, adding that the pair did share a room but that “no party engaged in inappropriate behavior.”
Ingrassia has since sued Politico for defamation in Warren County, Virginia, over the reports surrounding the alleged incident of sexual harassment.
He also swatted away allegations that Ingrassia had his colleague’s own reservation cancelled in a bid to get her to sleep in the same room as him.
Ingrassia’s attorney and a DHS spokesperson also claimed that the HR investigation into him had ended and cleared him, finding “no wrongdoing.”
The unnamed woman also said that she “never felt uncomfortable” and claims that she never made a complaint.
“A colleague misjudged the situation and made claims of alleged harassment that are not true,” the woman added. “There was no wrongdoing.”
According to two officials, though, she did file her own complaint, but only after a career official filed a separate complaint.
The Independent has contacted the DHS, the GSA, Paul Ingrassia and Edward Andrew Paltzik (Ingrassia’s lawyer) for comment.
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