'Our candidates are fat Jewish Zionists!' Trump aide Paul Ingrassio under fire again as leaked group chat reveals slur-filled rant targeting fellow Republican with vile AI-altered photo

By SHAWN COHEN, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 21:20, 24 April 2026 | Updated: 21:27, 24 April 2026 A Trump administration official with a history of inflammatory remarks is once again under fire after newly leaked texts appear to show him ranting about fellow Republicans for supporting 'fat Jewish Zionists', the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal. In the explosive messages obtained by the Daily Mail, Paul Ingrassia, the then White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, lashes out in a group chat with other Trump aides, titled 'Team DOJ/DHS/WH'. The exchange – which took place around April 2025 – escalated after a Justice Department employee sent a text fuming: 'How the f**k are we losing Wisconsin', before adding: 'Republicans are so stupid and lazy.'  The complaint was likely referring to Wisconsin's 2025 Supreme Court election, in which liberal circuit judge Susan Crawford defeated Catholic, Republican circuit judge and former state attorney general Brad Schimel. Ingrassia, a 30-year-old attorney and Trump loyalist, then chimed in with an anti-Semitic comment taking aim at Florida congressman Randy Fine, a pro-Israel Republican who had been elected that same day.  'It's because our candidates are fat Jewish Zionist f**ks,' Ingrassia replied, after sending an altered, unflattering image of Fine speaking at an event.  The photo showed Fine, a proudly Jewish candidate, addressing a crowd with a grotesquely bulging stomach and baggy jeans. 'That's our candidate?!?' the DOJ staffer replied incredulously, apparently not recognizing the newly elected congressman representing Florida's 6th congressional district.  Paul Ingrassia, a longtime MAGA insider, is under fire after explosive, slur-filled messages from a private group chat with other administration officials were leaked The vile messages exchanged around April 2025 and obtained by the Daily Mail, show Ingrassia took aim at Florida Congressman Randy Fine, calling him a 'fat Jewish Zionist f**k', after sharing an AI-altered image that made him appear grotesquely overweight  Ingrassia's lawyer Edward Andrew Paltzik said: 'These accusations against Mr. Ingrassia are false and fabricated. No such group chat called 'Team DOJ/DHS/WH' exists on his phone.' The Daily Mail has verified that the original photo of Fine was taken at an RNC meeting in Marion County, Florida in January 2025, but had been altered with AI to make him appear significantly larger.  In a statement to the Daily Mail, Fine said: 'I hope these text messages are fake. But if they are not, I know President Trump has a zero tolerance for antisemitism and will fire those involved immediately.'  Ingrassia's text tirade, leaked to the Daily Mail, is not the first example of Ingrassia getting embroiled in controversy over his remarks. Last October, as Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Ingrassia faced backlash after Politico exposed a series of racist remarks he apparently made prior to the president's re-election in a text chain with a half-dozen fellow Republicans. The outlet reported that Ingrassia, in January 2024, told the group that the Martin Luther King Jr holiday should be 'tossed into the seventh circle of hell' and added: 'I do have a Nazi stream in me from time to time, I will admit it.' A month earlier, Politico reported, he used an Italian slur for black people, writing: 'No moulignon holidays … From kwanza (sic) to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenth,' and adding, 'Every single one needs to be eviscerated.' At the time, Paltzik disputed the authenticity of the texts, adding that if they were genuine they were poking fun at liberals and were 'satirical'.  A day after the article came out, Ingrassia withdrew his controversial nomination for the Office of Special Counsel after several Republicans senators voiced their opposition. CNN had also previously reported on Ingrassia's 'racist and conspiratorial speech and ties to white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.'  The Daily Mail has obtained the original photo of Fine – taken at an RNC meeting in Marion County, Florida, in January 2025 – which shows it had been manipulated in the Ingrassia text to make him appear significantly larger Ingrassia, a 30-year-old attorney and Trump loyalist, has previously been at the center of another leaked text scandal showing him making racist slurs and anti-Semitic remarks  Florida congressman Randy Fine is a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel Republican who was elected April 1, 2025 But despite being called out last year, Ingrassia has maintained a leadership position in the administration.  He is now serving as Acting General Counsel for the US General Services Administration, leading a team of attorneys focused on implementing the president's executive orders. Ingrassia has long been a lightning rod within the MAGA movement, but Trump has stayed loyal to him, supporting him through several scandals. He was accused of harassing a lower-ranking female colleague by deliberately canceling her hotel room on a trip to Orlando, so he suggested she share his room. Attorney Paltzik denied the allegations in a statement after the story broke and launched a defamation lawsuit.  'Mr Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers – female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise – in connection with any employment,' he said. Ingrassia has also represented some of the most controversial figures in right-wing circles, including kickboxer and influencer Andrew Tate who faced rape charges in Romania and the UK. Tate has denied the allegations. He also represented several of the rioters charged and later pardoned by Trump for their part in the January 6 attack on Congress. No comments have so far been submitted. 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