‘I Do Not Have Enough Republican Votes’: Trump’s Latest Failed Nominee Makes The White House Look Incompetent

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel has pulled out after it became clear he would not be confirmed. Paul Ingrassia, a right-wing lawyer and former podcast host, withdrew on Tuesday night, just two days before his planned Senate confirmation hearing.

Ingrassia’s nomination hit problems after reports came out about his extreme views and controversial statements. As per MSNBC, things got worse when another publication reported on a group text message where Ingrassia admitted to having a Nazi streak. After this came to light, several Republican senators said publicly they would vote against his confirmation.

In an X post on Tuesday night, Ingrassia explained why he was pulling out. He said he would not attend his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.” He was right about the vote count. His history of radical comments had already made him one of Trump’s most problematic picks, and admitting to a Nazi streak made things impossible.

What This Means For The White House

Ingrassia’s failed nomination is part of a bigger pattern that raises questions about how the Trump administration checks its nominees. While most people think the Republican-led Senate approves every Trump nominee, recent events show a different picture. A lot of nominations have been failing.

Earlier this month, Brian Quintenz’s nomination to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fell apart. Just days before that, E.J. Antoni’s nomination to become the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics failed because both parties opposed him. Three failed nominations in three weeks is a big problem for any White House.

This problem goes back several months. The list of failed nominees also includes Matt Gaetz, Dave Weldon, Ed Martin, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Chad Chronister, Kathleen Sgamma and Jared Isaacman. If you count Elise Stefanik, the pattern becomes even clearer.

This growing list of failures points to a bigger problem in the White House. Nobody knows if Trump’s team just did not do proper research on Ingrassia before picking him, or if they knew about his radical views and chose him anyway. Either way, it makes the administration look bad.

What makes this even stranger is that Ingrassia still works as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security. Nobody knows if he will get to keep that job after everything that came out about his views. The fact that someone who admits to having a Nazi streak might keep working in an important government job is worrying on its own.