Paul J. Ingrassia, nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
Source: DHS
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, was accused of sexual harassment, Politico reported.
Ingrassia, who is currently the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, was investigated in connection with an incident in late July in which he told a lower-ranking female colleague on a business trip that she would be sharing a hotel room with him, Politico reported Thursday. The outlet cited five unnamed administration officials.
The woman later “discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him,” three officials said, according to Politico.
She “initially protested” the arrangement, but relented in order to avoid causing a scene around other colleagues, Politico reported officials saying. The two slept in separate beds in the room, according to Politico.
In a letter to Politico, a lawyer for the 30-year-old Ingrassia denied the harassment allegations.
The news outlet did not name the woman, but said that she was a Trump appointee,
“Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment,” the attorney, Edward Paltzik, wrote.
Paltzik said that while the two did share a hotel room on the trip, Ingrassia did not cancel the woman’s reservation and “no party engaged in inappropriate behavior.”
In a separate letter to CNBC, Paltzik said Ingrassia “did not engage in any wrongdoing in connection with the matters reported.”
The woman filed a human resources complaint against him but retracted it days later out of fear of retaliation, three officials told Politico.
An HR investigation into Ingrassia cleared him, Paltzik and a DHS spokesperson told Politico.
The woman told Politico in a statement that she “never felt uncomfortable” about Ingrassia’s behavior and that she never made a complaint.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Politico’s report.
Trump nominated Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that oversees whistleblower complaints and investigates federal employees.
The nomination came after Trump fired Hampton Dellinger, an appointee of President Joe Biden. Dellinger had reportedly opposed the layoffs of federal employees ordered by Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Dellinger challenged his dismissal in a lawsuit but later dropped the suit.
In his role as White House liaison, Ingrassia has pushed for the hiring of candidates at the Department of Justice who show “exceptional loyalty” to Trump, ABC News earlier reported.
Ingrassia’s chances of being confirmed to lead OSC appeared to falter in July, when Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would not back Trump’s pick.
Read Politico’s full report here.