Trump nominates former podcast host with history of inflammatory comments for top ethics job

President Donald Trump has nominated Paul Ingrassia, a former podcast host with a long history of inflammatory remarks, to head the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

“Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social announcing the nomination Thursday night.

Ingrassia is a far-right former podcaster and commentator with a lengthy list of incendiary comments. He has called for Jan. 6 to be declared a national holiday to honor the “peaceful protest against a great injustice affecting our electoral system” and dismissed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as a “psyop.”

He has worked for and praised “manosphere” influencer Andrew Tate, who’s facing rape and human trafficking charges, calling him an “extraordinary human being.” He has referred to Tate as “a dissident of authoritarianism” — a title he has said applies as well to white nationalist Nick Fuentes, the rapper Ye and Trump.

He has also called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be jailed, and referred to former Vice President Mike Pence as an “FBI asset.”

Ingrassia graduated from Cornell Law in 2022, joined conservative think tank The Claremont Institute later that year, became a leader in the New York Young Republican Club, and then went on to be a frequent presence at Trump rallies and Mar-a-Lago in 2023 and 2024.

He’s currently working as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and was formerly the administration’s liaison to the Justice Department, where he’d been seen walking the halls, touting the president’s agenda and telling people he was acting as the “eyes and ears” of the White House.

His post at the Office of Special Counsel will require Senate confirmation.

The OSC is an independent federal investigative and prosecuting agency, tasked with shielding federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, including retaliation for whistleblowing.

The agency head is confirmed to a five-year term, but Trump fired then-OSC head Hampton Dellinger earlier this year. Dellinger, a Biden nominee who was confirmed to the post last year, fought his dismissal in court but eventually dropped the suit.

Ingrassia thanked Trump for nominating him in a post on X.

“As Special Counsel, my team and I will make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement,” he wrote.