Internal conflicts are once again causing turbulence within the Trump administration, this time affecting Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to sources, a mix of personal rivalries and unchecked ambition have sparked a series of leaks that ultimately derailed a White House nomination.

Insiders from both the White House and DHS have informed the Daily Mail that Christopher Pratt, the under secretary for strategy, policy, and plans, along with Taylor Bush, the deputy to White House liaison Paul Ingrassia, played key roles in orchestrating the damaging leaks against their colleague.

According to three sources, Pratt and Bush were responsible for leaking allegations of sexual harassment and distributing the controversial ‘Nazi texts,’ which led to the collapse of Ingrassia’s nomination to head the Office of Special Counsel, an important federal oversight agency.

Paul Ingrassia, the 30-year-old nominee chosen by President Donald Trump, was scheduled for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week.

However, his nomination fell apart following a Politico report that revealed text messages where he disparaged Martin Luther King Jr. Day as “the seventh circle of hell” and referred to himself as having “a Nazi streak.”

Sources assert that the timing of these leaks was no accident. Instead, they claim it was the result of a calculated, months-long strategy devised within the DHS.

‘They never liked Paul. That’s a fact,’ one high-level DHS official told Daily Mail. 

‘Pratt and Ingrassia didn’t get along at all,’ a source at the White House added, noting that the president’s personnel office has long clashed with Pratt, and that Ingrassia was aligned with the faction opposed to him. 

‘This is jealousy, pure and simple. They’ve been trying to move chess pieces and take him out for months,’ the source added.

Bush, who is roughly a decade older than Ingrassia, resented working under the younger appointee, the Daily Mail has learned.

‘He’s been knifing him for his job,’ a second DHS source said. ‘They’ve been looking to get rid of Ingrassia from the start.’

White House and Department of Homeland Security insiders tell the Daily Mail that Christopher Pratt, the department’s under secretary for strategy, policy and plans, along with Taylor Bush, deputy to White House liaison Paul Ingrassia (pictured with Trump), orchestrated damaging leaks targeting their colleague

The release allegedly was no coincidence, sources insist – but rather the culmination of a months-long vendetta and a plan hatched within the walls of the DHS (pictured: Kristi Noem)

‘Pratt and Ingrassia didn’t get along at all,’ a source at the White House added (pictured: Christopher Pratt)

Taylor Bush (pictured), who is roughly a decade older than Ingrassia, resented working under the younger appointee, the Daily Mail has learned.

The irony is not lost on DHS insiders: Pratt, a longtime government official, had himself been tapped by the White House for a senior State Department position as the administration’s liaison to the Pentagon.

But his own nomination was quietly withdrawn on September 29. 

‘Chris Pratt is arrogant and pretentious. He always wants to get his way — hire his friends — and it’s gotten the department into a lot of trouble. He gets his friends DHS contracts without going through the proper channels, the list goes on,’ said the second DHS source.

Before joining public service, Pratt’s career spanned advising special operations forces in Afghanistan to leading hostage-negotiation efforts. He spent nearly a decade in the private sector and served in a senior role at the Pentagon, managing interagency personnel recovery operations.

One individual involved in leaking Ingrassia’s messages reportedly claimed the move stemmed from a desire for ‘government to be staffed with experienced people who are taken seriously.’

But Ingrassia’s attorney, Edward Paltzik, pushed back, arguing that the texts were misrepresented and stripped of context.

Ingrassia (pictured) did not immediately respond to Daily Mail’s requests for comment

The release was no coincidence, sources insist – it was hatched within the walls of DHS as part of a months-long vendetta

‘Looks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted,’ Paltzik said. ‘However, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters “Nazis”.’

Paltzik said the leaks were part of a broader attempt to politically and personally damage his client. 

‘In this age of AI, authentication of allegedly leaked messages — which could be outright falsehoods, doctored, or manipulated, or lacking critical context — is extremely difficult,’ he said. ‘What is certain, though, is that there are individuals who cloak themselves in anonymity while executing their underhanded personal agendas to harm Mr. Ingrassia at all costs. We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages.’

The controversy came on the heels of renewed scrutiny over an earlier sexual harassment probe involving Ingrassia during his DHS tenure — an investigation that ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing. 

‘Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment,’ Paltzik said.

Ingrassia did not immediately respond to Daily Mail’s requests for comment.

Bush denies the claims. ‘These allegations are categorically false. I am not on nor have I ever been on the text chain in question, nor have I ever leaked or shared these messages. Our correspondence has only ever been work related and I have only ever had a cordial working relationship with Ingrassia since we first met back in late March,’ Bush told Daily Mail.

Pratt’s legal team wrote to the Daily Mail: ‘Mr. Pratt has never contacted any media outlet or reporter, in any manner, to provide any information whatsoever. We can confirm these allegations are unequivocally false.’