The White House is losing GOP support for the nomination of Paul Ingrassia to a key watchdog post, with at least one Senate Republican vowing to oppose him due to his sympathy for Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told the Washington Examiner he will vote “no” on Ingrassia, tapped to lead the Office of Special Counsel in May, should his nomination be brought to the Senate floor.

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“The guy’s got the exact wrong rap sheet to get my support,” Tillis told the Washington Examiner, describing Ingrassia’s call to make Jan. 6 a national holiday as singularly disqualifying. The comment is part of a trove of social media posts that will come under Senate scrutiny, as will Ingrassia’s past defense of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Ingrassia denies that he is antisemitic.

Tillis is not a member of the Senate panel tasked with vetting his nomination. The vetting process will fall to senators on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which is slated to hold a confirmation hearing Thursday.

His warning dims the chances that Ingrassia, currently a White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, will be confirmed in a vote before the entire chamber. Other Republicans were more circumspect with their criticism but lodged similar concerns about Ingrassia’s rhetoric.

Ingrassia has suggested that Congress pay millions in reparations to the families of Jan. 6 defendants and floated impeachment for the judges and prosecutors involved in their cases. Separately, his now-defunct podcast called for martial law after President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told the Washington Examiner that, like Tillis, she was still learning about Ingrassia’s record but that his Jan. 6 comments were “absurd.” She is one of three Republicans still in the Senate who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial and has opposed other controversial nominees.

“Anybody that would glorify Jan. 6 and what happened then, in my view, is going to be met with intense skepticism about his or her ability to do a job, particularly if you’re talking about somebody for the special counsel’s office,” Murkowski told the Washington Examiner.

The Office of Special Counsel is tasked with protecting federal whistleblowers and pursuing violations of the Hatch Act, which prevents appointees from using their office for political purposes.

Ingrassia’s comments about Jan. 6 are just one line of inquiry for senators preparing for the confirmation hearing. Democrats have questioned his loyalty to Trump and accused him of outright bigotry.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a Government Affairs Committee member, claimed that “what’s been revealed publicly is the least of it” when asked about Ingrassia’s rhetoric.

“I mean, he has said things that are beyond controversial,” said Blumenthal. “They are abhorrent, and I’m going to be asking questions about his past statements insofar as they reflect racist, antisemitic, misogynistic views that are repugnant and are unacceptable for anyone in a position of trust or responsibility.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), a Republican on the panel, hinted at reservations over Ingrassia’s social media history, adding that he will evaluate the nominee’s resume. Ingrassia, 30, graduated from law school in 2022 and has limited government experience.

“I’m still looking at some of the stuff he’s posted and said — obviously, he doesn’t speak the way that I speak on things,” Lankford said.

“I want to also talk about his background and experience. He’s had his law degree for a year, and running the special counsel office is a pretty big job,” he added.

Ingrassia has publicly defended his remarks, denying in a Fox News interview this month that he is antisemitic, as Democrats claim. The White House, meanwhile, said the administration still has “full confidence” in Ingrassia’s “ability to advance the President’s agenda.” 

“Paul Ingrassia is a respected attorney who has served President Trump exceptionally well and will continue to do so as the next head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The eleventh-hour smear campaign will not deter the President from supporting this nomination,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a similar message in Wednesday’s press briefing, telling reporters that the administration is “always in communication with members of both the Senate and the House, and we stand by the president’s nominees.”

Ingrassia is just the latest nominee to face trouble in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) plans to vote against Emil Bove, Trump’s pick for a federal judgeship, and Murkowski appears inclined to do the same, meaning Bove can lose just one more Republican in a final vote on the Senate floor.

Bove has struggled to overcome whistleblower allegations that he discussed defying court orders to enact Trump’s agenda.

Tillis’s opposition to Ed Martin, who was chosen for Washington, D.C.’s top prosecutor post, contributed to Trump’s decision to pull the nomination in May. Martin was another defender of Jan. 6 defendants.

Senators were tight-lipped about whether Ingrassia could pass the Government Affairs Committee, which is controlled 8-7 by Republicans. Most acknowledged they were vaguely familiar with him but wanted to see how he conducted himself at the hearing.

“We’re about to find out,” Lankford said.

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the committee chairman, said a vote could happen as soon as next week but declined to provide his view on Ingrassia.

“We don’t have any other comments on it. We’re just going to go through the hearings and see how it goes,” Paul said.