Paul Ingrassia texted that he had a “Nazi streak.” He enforced Trump loyalty at DOJ.

In a recently leaked group chat, it was revealed that a Republican operative named Paul Ingrassia referred to himself as having a “Nazi streak.”

The leak is just one among many recent signs that this kind of radical and incendiary rhetoric has become increasingly normalized among some up-and-coming Republican staffers.

But Ingrassia isn’t just any other MAGA edgelord; he is President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel. And though it seems increasingly unlikely that Ingrassia will win Senate confirmation to that post, he has already been serving as a de facto “loyalty enforcer” within the administration all year.

Already under scrutiny for his associations with antisemitic figures and extreme public commentary, the group chat leaked to Politico this week revealed several other nasty comments Ingrassia made, including: “Never trust a chinaman or Indian,” musings about the “natural state” of “Blacks,” and a demand that Martin Luther King Jr Day should “be eviscerated.” Ingrassia also used an Italian slur to refer to Black people, went so far as to declare that “the founding fathers were wrong that all men are created equal,” and said: “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”

Several Republican senators have said they won’t confirm Ingrassia and suggested Trump should pull his nomination.

But Ingrassia’s influence on the administration has already been felt — he’s helped vet appointees and staff two key agencies.

He began the year as a sort of loyalty enforcer to Trump at the Department of Justice, when he made highly inappropriate demands that people up for top FBI jobs tell him their voting history. That’s according to a lawsuit filed by three fired FBI officials, one of whom described being grilled by Ingrassia in January with questions such as “Who did you vote for?” “When did you start supporting President Trump?” and “Have you voted for a Democrat in the last five elections?”

According to ABC News, Ingrassia was the White House liaison for DOJ, had “significant authority to help interview and select candidates for senior and lower-level positions,” and called himself Trump’s “eyes and ears” at the department.

However, he soon clashed with other Trump appointees there, and in late February he was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security, where he held a similar role (and was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague, by booking a work trip for them and ensuring she would have to share a room with him).

Throughout all this, Ingrassia demonstrated a remarkable staying power in Trumpworld. He clearly had protectors high up in the administration. And the story of his rise reveals much about the bizarre moral economy of the second Trump administration.

How did Ingrassia rise in Trumpworld?

Ingrassia was a minor figure on the right during Trump’s first term. He hosted a right-wing podcast (with his sister, another Trump appointee), interned with the White House’s National Economic Council, and won fellowships at the Claremont Institute, an increasingly influential right-wing think tank.

During the 2020 election, he shared an article posted by his podcast’s account calling on Trump to use the “martial law option” to stay in power. The article was signed “Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus,” a Roman figure who, according to CNN, Ingrassia has repeatedly referenced.

Completing law school at Cornell in 2022, Ingrassia joined a law firm that represented several January 6 rioters. He also became active in the New York Young Republican Club (yes, the same one from last week’s leaked group chat scandal).

But it was in 2023 that Ingrassia cracked the code on how to truly rise to Trump’s attention. One part involved writing sycophantic pro-Trump articles on his Substack and at MAGA publications — articles that somehow were brought to Trump’s attention, spurring him to post them on TruthSocial. The other part involved frequently visiting Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster, where he encountered Trump in person.

In 2023, Ingrassia received (and posted) multiple messages Trump sent him, inscribed on Ingrassia’s articles or social media posts, sometimes making reference to having recently seen him (and calling Ingrassia handsome and good-looking).

It’s hard to overstate the sycophancy of Ingrassia’s public commentary toward Trump — and his stated willingness to back almost everything Trump would do to seek power. He has posted images of Trump as a king, said Trump would be the savior of Western civilization, and posted on X: “Trump is the constitution.”

“I WILL ALWAYS STAND WITH DONALD JOHN TRUMP, THE 45TH AND 47TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” he posted in May 2024 – earning himself another: “Paul – you are great” note from Trump. In 2024, Ingrassia played a role in Trump’s campaign, helping organize rallies and fundraisers.

As he was rising in Trump’s orbit, Ingrassia also defended some of the most controversial figures on the right. For instance, he did legal work for “manosphere” influencer Andrew Tate (helping arrange his interview with Tucker Carlson.

Ingrassia also argued in 2023 that the antisemitic, Hitler-defending commentator Nick Fuentes should have his account restored to Twitter. The following year, a reporter spotted Ingrassia at a Fuentes rally, though Ingrassia claimed to have stumbled on it accidentally.

In a typical administration, associations like these would likely have been disqualifying — caught in a vetting process. But none of this mattered. All that mattered was that Ingrassia was loyal — utterly, completely, and totally loyal to Trump personally. That’s the only qualification he needed.