Paul Ingrassia, a conservative activist who withdrew his nomination to oversee a government watchdog agency last month after POLITICO reported he made racist comments in a group chat, said Thursday he is moving to a new job in the administration.
The 30-year-old lawyer had been serving since February as White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. But in an email obtained by POLITICO, he told colleagues that he is leaving to become deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration.
President Donald Trump nominated Ingrassia in June to lead the Office of Special Counsel. But Ingrassia withdrew from consideration in October after it became clear he lacked the votes to be confirmed.
“It’s been the greatest honor to serve Secretary [Kristi] Noem and President Trump, alongside all of you,” he wrote in Thursday’s email. He added, “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.”
