Trump nominates official with ties to antisemitic extremists to lead ethics agency

President Donald Trump has nominated 30-year-old conservative lawyer Paul Ingrassia to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a government ethics office, despite Ingrassia's ties to multiple antisemitic extremists.

If confirmed by the Senate, Ingrassia would oversee the agency that enforces the Hatch Act, which limits government employees from engaging in certain partisan political activities, and provides protections to whistleblowers. (The agency is separate and distinct from special counsels appointed by the Department of Justice, such as Robert Mueller or Jack Smith, who investigate sensitive cases.)

As NPR reported earlier this month, Jewish civil rights leaders have raised concerns about Ingrassia's ties to extremists, particularly in light of the administration's stated commitment to fighting antisemitism. The Trump administration recently promoted Kingsley Wilson to the role of Pentagon press secretary over the objection of the American Jewish Committee, which said Wilson was "unfit" for government service, because she shared "antisemitic conspiracy theories lifted right out of the neo-Nazi playbook." The White House has justified the attempted deportation of international students and the withholding of billions of dollars in funding to universities as parts of a plan to combat antisemitic hate.

"Appointing someone to a senior administration role despite their documented support for antisemites seriously conflicts with and undermines ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism at this critical moment," the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement in response to Ingrassia's nomination.

In contrast to prior leaders of the Office of Special Counsel, who typically had years of legal experience, Ingrassia has only briefly worked as a lawyer. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 2022 and became a registered attorney in New York less than a year ago, in July 2024. He caught the eye of the president through his pro-Trump blog posts during the 2024 presidential campaign and joined the administration in January 2025.

"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 posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Paul holds degrees from both Cornell Law School and Fordham University, where he majored in Mathematics and Economics, graduating near the top of his class. Congratulations Paul!"

The White House did not respond to NPR's request for comment about Ingrassia's documented ties to antisemitic extremists.

In recent years, Ingrassia worked on the legal team for Andrew Tate, the "manosphere" influencer and self-described "misogynist," who has faced allegations of rape and human trafficking in both the United Kingdom and Romania — charges Tate denies. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Tate has also promoted "Holocaust revisionism" and antisemitism, and uses "Jew" as an insult on social media.

Ingrassia has not only assisted in Tate's legal defense, but also praised him as an "extraordinary man" and "the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence," who has been unjustly targeted by "the global elites."

Until recently, Ingrassia's Instagram account featured a pinned photo of him posing with Tate. (The photo remains on his Instagram account, but is no longer pinned to the top of his page.)

Ingrassia's ties to antisemitic extremists extend beyond Tate.

In June 2024, Ingrassia appeared in the crowd at an impromptu rally for Holocaust denier and white nationalist Nick Fuentes after Fuentes was ejected from a gathering of the young conservative group Turning Point USA.

Ingrassia condemned Turning Point for removing Fuentes from their conference, calling it an "awful decision."

"Conservatives should always uphold the First Amendment and allow for dissident voices," Ingrassia posted on X.

At the Fuentes rally, supporters chanted "down with Israel," and Fuentes told the crowd, "calling Donald Trump a racist only makes me like him more."

Ingrassia also wrote a Substack post calling on X to remove its ban on Fuentes for promoting hate speech. (Fuentes' account was later restored.)

Ingrassia has also attended events supporting defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including a defendant with a history of extreme antisemitic and racist rhetoric who gave himself a "Hitler mustache."

In response to NPR's questions earlier this month, Ingrassia said in an email, "This narrative you're trying to attach to me that I'm some sort of extremist is lacking in all credibility."

Ingrassia claimed that he inadvertently attended Fuentes' rally.

"I had no knowledge of who organized the event, observed for 5-10 minutes, then left," he wrote to NPR. He did not address Fuentes' well-documented history of antisemitism and racism.

Ingrassia also avoided questions about Tate's antisemitic rhetoric. He did denounce the "hateful or incendiary" remarks of the Jan. 6 defendant, insisting "my advocacy for J6ers is not based on any particular remark, but on the principle that all Americans are entitled to due process and free speech."

Some conservative commentators have also criticized Ingrassia's social media posts about Israel.

Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, Ingrassia posted, "I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was yet another psyop." (The term "psyop" is short for "psychological operation.")

Despite Ingrassia's extremist ties, Leo Terrell, the leader of the Trump administration's antisemitism task force, praised Ingrassia's nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel.

"Perfect Choice!" Terrell wrote.

Terrell himself has faced criticism for sharing a social media post by a prominent white supremacist that said, "Trump has the ability to revoke someone's Jew card."
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