Paul Ingrassia, White House liaison to the Justice Department, center, departs after speaking to members of the press at the D.C. Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2025 following President Donald Trump's pardons and commutations for defendants in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots. Ingrassia announced that brothers Matthew and Andrew Valentin had been released earlier in the evening following President Trump's orders. Image: Bryan Dozier/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
By: FEDweek StaffUPDATED: The White House’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, has withdrawn ahead of a confirmation hearing in the face of opposition from a half-dozen Republican senators whose votes would have been needed to confirm him.
In contrast to prior nominees of both parties for that position , Ingrassia has much less experience in government and law; however, opposition to him has focused on his history of associating with far-right personalities and positions. That opposition, previously voiced only by Democrats, widened in recent days after further reporting on his past comments by news outlets including Politco.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meanwhile is to continue considering nominations of Charles Arrington, chief human capital officer at the VA, for the vacant seat on the three-member FLRA board, which has been split by party since the White House fired a Democratic member; and of Ed Forst, who has held senior positions in the real estate and investment industries, to be GSA administrator.
While the OSC seat will remain vacant for a time, the Senate has been moving to fill other vacancies in key positions overseeing federal workforce matters.
The Senate recently restored a quorum to the five-seat EEOC by confirming Brittany Panuccio, whose background includes positions with the Education and Justice departments. The EEOC had been operating with just one Republican and one Democratic member since the White House fired two prior Democratic members.
A quorum of two members on the three-member MSPB also was recently restored, with the status of a fired Democratic member still uncertain pending a court challenge.
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