Anadolu: Growing doubts have emerged over whether US President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Office of Special Counsel will be confirmed on Thursday, which could mark a rare act of defiance by Senate Republicans.
“He’s not going to pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday night, following a Politico report revealing racist remarks made by nominee Andrew Ingrassia, a far-right former podcaster.
“I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,” Ingrassia reportedly wrote in a group chat, also referring to Martin Luther King Jr. as the “1960s George Floyd” and saying his holiday should be “ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”
Ingrassia is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee regarding his nomination to lead the independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency on Thursday.
At least three Republican senators – Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and James Lankford of Oklahoma – are reluctant to back the nomination.
“I’m not supporting him,” Scott said.“I can’t imagine how anybody can be antisemitic in this country. It’s wrong.”
“I have tons of questions for him,” Lankford said, adding that he “can’t imagine supporting that.”
Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul said the White House should clarify whether it still intends to proceed with the nomination.
“We’re going to wait and hear from them what their thoughts are, whether they’ve talked to all the Republican members or whether they think they have the votes,” he said.
Neither the White House nor Ingrassia has commented publicly on the controversy.
The Republican Party currently holds a 53–47 majority in the Senate.
Despite past controversies surrounding several Trump-backed nominees, including figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senate Republicans have largely supported the president’s choices.
