Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Ingrassia’s exit

Ingrassia’s exit

Oct 22, 2025

Presented by

With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro

On the Playbook Podcast this morning, Jack and POLITICO’s Megan Messerly discuss the headaches facing the White House this morning; why the head of NATO is making a sudden trip to DC; and the former Congressional staffer who’s now running one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, embracing this glorious season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. But why are the damn mosquitos still around? Get in touch.

MUST-READ — END OF AN ERA? Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will make an announcement on her future once California’s redistricting ballot on Nov. 4 is out the way, POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner and Jeremy White reveal this morning. Pelosi is 85 years old and under pressure from Dems to retire after nearly four decades in Congress — but wants to keep the focus on the Proposition 50 vote for now.

Who’s next? Notably, Pelosi has been “publicly elevating one Democrat who could run to succeed her: San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan,” Dustin and Jeremy report. “Pelosi already faced a tougher-than-expected primary challenger in Saikat Chakrabarti, a wealthy former tech executive and progressive who formerly worked as chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

And there’s gonna be more: “Pelosi is not the only prominent politician hinting at a major decision after Election Day. Sen. Alex Padilla has deflected questions about a potential run for governor, saying he is focused on Proposition 50, as has billionaire Tom Steyer.” A busy November lies ahead in the Golden State. Get ready.

In today’s Playbook …

— Ingrassia’s nomination is toast. But he’s still in his White House job.

—NATO chief flies in for emergency talks with Trump on Ukraine.

— Shutdown Day 22: Could Trump open D.C. museums?

DRIVING THE DAY

Paul Ingrassia during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House.

Paul Ingrassia, who had been selected by President Donald Trump to lead the Office of Special Counsel, arrives before Trump speaks during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House, June 4, 2025, in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP

INGRASSIA IS OUT: The White House is in need of a new Office of Special Counsel nominee after embattled Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination following POLITICO’s reporting on a text chain with fellow Republicans that showed he made inflammatory comments. In statements published on X and Truth Social last night, the 30-year-old lawyer announced he was pulling out of Thursday’s Senate nomination hearing “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.”

And that’s a wrap: Ingrassia’s statement seemed to leave open the possibility of a future comeback in the role. But a White House official was unequivocal. “He’s no longer being nominated,” they said. (More here from POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman, who broke the blockbuster story of Ingrassia’s texts on Monday afternoon.)

If you needed a recap: Ingrassia had already faced a series of controversies, including a sexual harassment investigation into his conduct, allegations that an Ingrassia lawyer denied. Then on Monday, POLITICO reported that “Ingrassia made a number of offensive remarks in a text message chain and said he had a ‘Nazi streak,’ according to the messages. His lawyer did not confirm the texts were authentic and said they ‘could be manipulated’ or have ‘material context omitted’.”

How it played out: Ingrassia’s fall had looked inevitable after a series of top Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader John Thune, came out against his nomination within hours of the story being published. White House officials discussed his nomination yesterday morning on an internal call, per MSNBC’s Jake Traylor. Ingrassia sent an email to Republican Senators requesting a “fair hearing” and criticizing POLITICO’s reporting (natch), per but to no avail. At 6.56 p.m. last night, Ingrassia was out.

Three quick takeaways from this whole affair:

FIRSTLY — The Senate lives! The Ingrassia case will be remembered as a rare moment when the 119th Congress — the meekest legislative branch in modern times — actually rose up and forced the executive’s hand. Mainstream GOP senators who — sometimes with deep misgivings — waved through highly controversial picks including Robert Kennedy Jr. at HHS and Pete Hegseth at DOD showed there is a limit to what they will tolerate from the White House. It’s amazing what a co-equal branch of government can do, if it puts its mind to it.

To be fair: The withdrawals of Matt Gaetz (attorney general); Dave Weldon (CDC chief); Ed Martin (U.S. attorney for D.C.) and E.J. Antoni (Bureau of Labor Statistics) show this was hardly an isolated case. Indeed, journo Gabe Fleisher points out that Ingrassia is the 49th Trump nominee to be withdrawn this year. It’s been a lowkey flex by the Senate — but a flex nonetheless.

SECONDLY — Ingrassia continues to serve as White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, per Daniel’s story. So while the Senate has reached the limits of what it deems acceptable, it seems the White House has not. As the NYT’s Katie Rogers writes in her analysis of the affair, “In Trump’s Washington, hate is not a deal breaker.”

Developing: It’s not just Chuck Schumer who wants Ingrassia fired. Even the WSJ’s Editorial Board makes clear it would like to see Trump set an example — though doesn’t opine on Ingrassia’s employment status. “It would be useful if President Trump made clear that this kind of garbage isn’t wanted in his MAGA political movement,” the newspaper writes.

THIRDLY — What’s with all the damn Nazi references? Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed this is the second GOP “Nazi” text message scandal POLITICO has uncovered this month. What on earth is going on? As an explainer, Playbook can heartily recommend this piece by ace colleague Catherine Kim — from a recent edition of our POLITICO Nightly newsletter — on how the language of chronically online “edgelords” has come to dominate so many group chats.

Speaking of Nazi scandals: It’s the Democrats’ turn this morning, with lefty favorite Graham Platner — the former U.S. Marine hoping to take on Rep. Susan Collins in Maine — vowing to remove the Nazi-style skull-and-crossbones tattoo he’s worn on his chest for the past 20 years. “It was not until I started hearing from reporters and D.C. insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” Platner said in a statement to POLITICO. “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that.”

Related read: JMart pens his latest column:“Democrats Keep Falling for Political Fantasies. When Will They Learn? Democrats keep falling for charismatic newcomers and viral candidates — and it keeps costing them elections.”

Back to Ingrassia: His withdrawal relieves one more headache for the White House to deal with — but there are several more around today of Trump’s own making. The president has had a stunning nine months in office by any measure, bending Congress to his will as he pushes through his policy agenda — yet he also continues to make jaw-dropping decisions that must cause intense migraines for the White House spin operation.

To take two just examples yesterday: The president’s casual confirmation of an NYT scoop that he wants to be paid vast sums in damages by his own Department of Justice for pursuing him through the courts would likely not have been recommended by many political strategists. But that’s what happened. “They probably owe me a lot of money,” Trump mused to reporters. “And you know, that decision would have to go across my desk. And it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself.”

No kidding it’s strange! It’s hard to imagine another leader on the planet contemplating something like this. “But I was damaged very greatly,” Trump shrugged. “And any money that I would get, I would give to charity.” Even so — Trump’s opponents are already ramping up attacks about a president paying himself vast sums of money from the public purse.

AND THERE’S MORE: Trump’s demolition of large parts of the White House’s East Wing this week, to make way for a new ballroom, does not have quite the same “WTF” value as a $230 million raid on the DOJ. But it does have incredible, eye-popping images, with the power to instantly go viral around the world. Which of course, they already have.

Again, Trump’s critics are sharpening their pens. The president is knocking down part of the most famous and treasured house in America. To build a glitzy ballroom. In the middle of a government shutdown. While families struggle to make ends meet. You can see how the attack lines work.

So what started life as an amusing D.C.-bubble story about Trump’s architectural whims is now front page of the Washington Post. Gavin Newsom is posting about it. Elizabeth Warren is posting about it. Even Hillary Clinton is posting about it. And it looks like the White House is concerned.

You can tell, because the PR blitz has been in overdrive since those first demolition pictures dropped. First a big Truth Social post stressing this is not a taxpayer-funded project. Then a swift ban on federal workers sharing pictures of the works. Multiple social media posts from the Rapid Response X account used by White House spinners. Some typically robust pushback from Director of Comms Steven Cheung. A long White House blog post explaining the history of presidential refurbs. Karoline Leavitt on Fox News making all these points direct to viewers. Fox hosts framing any criticism as a Democrat meltdown.

In short — they’re pulling out all the stops.

Of course: It’s absolutely true that other presidents have reshaped the White House in years gone by. And as Megan notes on today’s podcast, Trump has ridden out plenty such controversies before. For example — who’s even still talking about the $400 million luxury jet plane Trump accepted as a gift from Qatar, just five months ago? Most people can barely keep track of this news cycle week to week.

A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance:

This football season, Americans want to watch their favorite teams - not #BigPharma's ads. Despite regulators cracking down on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, industry spending on DTC ads surged this September. Instead of taking meaningful steps to slash prices for Americans, Big Pharma is spending millions to push their products. Read more about how Big Pharma is doubling down on ads nobody wants to see.

WAR AND PEACE

OUT OF A RUTTE: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will be at the White House today for a hastily-arranged 4 p.m. meeting with Trump — and unusually, no press will be invited in. Rutte is sweeping into D.C. after Trump’s tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday raised red flags across Europe about the president’s mindset. Rutte has a reputation as a Trump whisperer, and will be seeking to ensure the president remains on side.

All in the timing: It comes after the White House tabled the idea of an immediate summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, after a call Monday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed little has changed in Russia’s demands, WSJ’s Alexander Ward and colleagues write. “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” Trump said yesterday.

That’s likely welcome news for Zelenskyy, who hated the idea of a Budapest summit. Ukraine is now working with European allies on a 12-point plan that would create a ceasefire along current battle lines while pushing back on Russia’s territorial demands, Bloomberg’s Alberto Nardelli and colleagues write.

Meanwhile on the Hill: Rutte is also due to meet members of Congress on the Hill today — just as three bills dialing up the heat on Russia are primed to pass through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Stef Kight report. But any momentum the committee builds will likely still need Trump’s stamp of approval.

BIBI-SITTING UPDATE: Marco Rubio will be the next Trump administration official to make a trip to Israel this week, per Axios’ Barak Ravid. VP JD Vance was due to meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu this morning, amid fears he could re-spark tensions with Hamas, WSJ’s Anat Peled and colleagues report. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner told Netanyahu on Monday to be patient on the return of deceased hostages and to avoid any further escalation.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER: A newfound alliance between Rubio and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is driving Trump’s hyper-aggressive policy on Venezuela, POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil and Diana Nerozzi report, leaving “few voices in the administration who might argue against further escalation.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit the White House next month for the first time since 2018 — and the first time since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, WSJ’s Stephen Kalin and Ward report. The trip could pave the way for a normalization of Saudi-Israeli ties and a new U.S.-Saudi defense deal.

A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance:

SHUTDOWN DAY 22

THE ROAD TO NOWHERE: We’re into the fourth week of the government shutdown. Federal workers will miss their first full paychecks on Friday. Food banks and pantries are overwhelmed with lines of struggling workers, and come Nov. 1 food assistance benefits under SNAP in several states will cease. That date is also the ACA open enrollment deadline, now less than 10 days away.

The days when anyone thought a quick exit was possible are long gone, given the bipartisan “gangs” of lawmakers who’ve found off-ramps in the past are not close to any kind of solution, POLITICO’s Senate ace Jordain Carney writes this morning. Indeed, Senators can’t even agree if the bipartisan talks are happening at all. More from our Inside Congress colleagues

The blame game: There’s still cause for concern for the GOP, CNN’s Aaron Blake writes, as “every quality public poll has shown Trump and Republicans continue to shoulder more blame than Democrats.” That comes as a new AP-NORC poll shows most Americans — about 6 in 10 — are “extremely” or “very” concerned that their health care costs are about to go up.

But both sides genuinely believe they are winning, with Republicans looking for ways to mitigate the pain in the interim. The administration is planning to release more than $3 billion in aid to U.S. farmers that was cut off because of the shutdown and restart the Farm Service Agency tomorrow, WSJ’s Natalie Andrews and Patrick Thomas scoop. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture yesterday on Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) bill to pay some excepted federal workers, which will likely come up for a vote tomorrow. But Dems are drafting their own version of the bill, Jordain reports.

Mitigating the pain? Trump floated the idea of reopening D.C.’s shuttered museums yesterday, though didn’t explain how. “We now have beautiful safe streets — but we don't have the museums open,” Trump complained. “We should probably just open them.” Your Playbook author’s T.Rex-deprived children would agree.

Join POLITICO and FICO for a policy briefing that delves into the latest obstacles to preventing financial fraud, and the new technologies aimed at protecting consumers. Gain insights from government leaders and industry experts from Aspen Institute, Identity Theft Resource Center, Microsoft Security and more! Register to attend or watch online.

TRAIL MIX

LIVE, FROM NEW YORK: The last debate of the NYC mayoral race is tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern, hosted by C-SPAN. Early voting in New York kicks off on Saturday, so it’s potentially the last big chance for the candidates to make closing arguments as Andrew Cuomo battles to derail frontrunner Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo’s “dash for Republican votes is cranking into a higher gear with less than two weeks to go,” POLITICO’s Nick Reisman reports.

FROM THE GARDEN STATE: An adviser to GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli hosted an event on Saturday where he said he supported a ban on same-sex marriage and said he isn’t “taking money from Jews,” POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez reports. … Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill still isn’t sparking the kind of enthusiasm Dems are hoping will deliver them a third term controlling the governorship, Madison and POLITICO’s Daniel Han write.

Coming attractions: Former President Barack Obama will campaign with both Sherrill and Virginia Dem candidate Abigail Spanberger in the final days of their campaigns, per AP’s Olivia Diaz.

BREAKING THE BLUE WALL: Michigan is the prime “starting point” for the GOP to expand its Senate majority, NRSC officials told donors yesterday, Axios’ Stef Kight reports. Republicans are gaining confidence that Mike Rogers can flip the seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.

A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance:

BEST OF THE REST

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: “Vehicle Crashes Into Security Gate Outside the White House,” by NYT’s Francesca Regalado: “A person drove a vehicle into a security gate outside the White House on Tuesday night, the Secret Service said. The service said the person was immediately arrested after the crash … Trump was in the White House at the time of the incident,” but the building “was not placed on lockdown.”

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: “Senate plans hearing with Trump’s surgeon general pick Casey Means next week,” by ABC’s Will McDuffie. The MAHA celeb has been pencilled in for a virtual hearing before the HELP committee next Thursday.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK – Essential lawfare analysis: “How John Bolton’s criminal case stacks up to other high-profile classified docs probes”, by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein.

PENTAGON PARANOIA: A new memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dictates that Pentagon staffers now have to get approval before sharing any information with Congress, Breaking Defense’s Valerie Insinna and Theresa Hitchens scoop. The change could further stymie the flow of information as Hegseth looks to crack down on leaks.

SCHOOL TIES: The Trump administration is close to striking a contentious agreement with the University of Virginia — the first such deal by a public university, NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Michael Bender write.

MEDIAWATCH: “Warner Bros Discovery rejects Paramount offer, source says, company ponders sale options,” by Reuters’ Harshita Mary Varghese and colleagues.

As the shutdown fight deepens, stay on top of every twist with POLITICO’s essential newsletters.

Inside Congress delivers the reporting and analysis you need on negotiations, votes, and power dynamics driving Washington’s next move.
➡️ Subscribe to Inside Congress

West Wing Playbook covers how Trump’s Washington is navigating the shutdown — and what it means for the people running government day to day.
➡️ Subscribe to West Wing Playbook

TALK OF THE TOWN

UNUSUAL CAREER PATH — Sanae Takaichi, confirmed this week as Japan’s first female PM, is a former Hill staffer. She worked as a congressional fellow for Pat Schroeder, who was Colorado’s first female U.S. representative, in the late 1980s.

PALACE INTRIGUE — Trump hosted a private dinner at the White House Rose Garden last night with major GOP donors, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt reports. He hosted over 60 donors and several top White House advisers. Topics of the night were the shutdown — with Democrats to blame, Trump told the group — and next year’s midterms. In attendance: Bill Ackman, Steve Wynn, Charles Herbster, John Catsimatidis, Oliver Burckhardt, Jay and Karen Kemmerer, Dan Newlin, Lisa Troutt and Jared Isaacman.

— Trump dined with Rupert Murdoch at the White House last Thursday, Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright reports. Trump “lauded” Murdoch to those in attendance, which included VP JD Vance and chief of staff Susie Wiles, but the massive WSJ lawsuit didn’t come up — though next year’s elections did. They dined on “chicken with gravy.”

OUT AND ABOUT — The Hispanic Lobbyists Association hosted an informal “cafecito” gathering celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Akin Gump’s Capitol Hill office yesterday. SPOTTED: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jose Borjon, Brian Pomper, Osiris Morel, Carla Rynerson, Erica Romero, Emilio Cortes, Norberto Salinas, Corina Scheuren, Lucia Alonso, Lorenzo Gabriel Llano-Cruz, Chloe Rodriguez, Sheyla Marimon, Alberto Gonzalez, Manuel Bonilla, Indira Islas, Angelica Duque, Leilani Gonzalez, Ruben Barrales, Javier Llano and Rosemery Garza. Pic

— Union Market’s ode to Silk Road cuisine — and a new addition to D.C.’s Michelin Guide — restaurant Karravaan hosted its first annual Diwali celebration last night. SPOTTED: Deepa Shivaram, Linto Thomas, Moh Sharma, Nik Popli, Sabrina Siddiqui, Sumi Somaskanda and Zeba Warsi.

— Teresa Carlson hosted a book reception last night at The Jefferson celebrating “The Transformation Principles” ($30) by Hemant Taneja. The evening featured a conversation between Taneja and Pamela Brown on innovation and leadership. SPOTTED: Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Paul Dabbar, Sriram Krishnan and Aarthi Ramamurthy, Chris Klomp, Justin Fanelli, David Urban, Arun Gupta, Maryam Mujica, Rebecca Karabus, John Rizzo, Will Wu, Julie Bush, Emily Chen, Antonia Hitchens, David Butler, Jeremy Bash, Kaly McKenna, Juleanna Glover, John Harris, Olivia Igbokwe, Katelyn Bledsoe, Steve Clemons, Kevin Maney, Sumi Somaskanda, Jeanette zu Furstenberg and Thomas Wagner.

TRANSITIONS — Ryan Thompson is joining SKDK to lead its new Blizzard TXT texting platform. He previously worked on the Harris and Biden campaigns. … Laura Friedel has joined Alston & Bird as a senior policy adviser in their health care group. She previously worked on the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee. … Saumya Narechania is now political director for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Saumya most recently worked on the Harris campaign.

ENGAGED — Noah Yosif, of the American Staffing Association, and Danielle Finley, of the Association of Realtors, got engaged on Monday at Butterworth’s in front of a crowd of adoring spectators. The couple met in April 2024 through the Arlington-Alexandria-Falls Church Young Republicans Club. Pic

WEDDING — Dana Beckman, a publicist at POLITICO, and Jeremy Segal, a systems engineer at EdgeSource, got married on Oct. 11 in Charleston, South Carolina. The two grew up on the same street in Atlanta but reconnected years later and started dating in 2019. Pic, via Allison Hanson

— Alison Whitaker, legislative director for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Austin Bishop, founder of The New Industrial Corp., tied the knot over the weekend in Middleburg, Virginia. The couple were introduced by friends. Pic, via Anna Wright … Another pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) … Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson … Hilary Rosen … Stephanie Cutter of Precision Strategies … Rachel Petri … former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour … Simone Campbell … NYT’s David Halbfinger … Kurt Bardella … Guy Harrison of OnMessage Inc. … Brett O’Donnell … America Votes’ Daria Dawson … Chris Licht … WaPo’s Warren Strobel … Rolling Stone’s Ryan Bort … Jerry Zremski … FiscalNote’s Mallory (Howe) Molina … Tom Basile … Atlantic Council’s Trey Herr … Helen Milby … Patrick Dolan of BGR Group … Jeff Grappone of Rokk Solutions … Sara Swezy of Sena Kozar Strategies … Michael Beckel … former Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Ed Feighan (D-Ohio) … Samantha (Friedman) Kupferman … Jennie Bragg of Malaria No More … Alice Henriques Volz … POLITICO’s Niina Farah … Adam Parkhomenko … New Heights Communications’ Hana Hancock … Casey Phillips … Michael Ceraso of Winning Margins and Community Groundwork

Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.

Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.

A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance:

Americans want to watch sports, not #BigPharma's ads. And yet, industry spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements surged 14% since the summer. Why? Big Pharma knows it has a captive audience as Americans hunker down to watch their favorite teams this football season. Luckily, Washington is taking action. The Trump administration, FDA, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have taken critical steps to hold Big Pharma accountable for inundating Americans with harmful - and often intentionally misleading - ads. Bottom line? Americans want lower costs, NOT more ads from Big Pharma. Enough is enough. Read more.