House Republicans went after the presidents of three universities Wednesday in their latest Education Committee hearing to focus on campus antisemitism as Democrats accused the majority of caring more about making a scene rather than solving real problems.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing with the heads of Haverford College, DePaul University and California Polytechnic State University to evaluate the spread of antisemitism on college campuses “beyond” the Ivy League schools that have recently been targeted on the issue.
“The scourge of antisemitism has taken root far beyond the country’s best-known ivory towers. And it’s our responsibility as a committee to unearth and address antisemitism at these schools, too especially as antisemitism is at a historic high in the United States,” Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said in his opening remarks.
Throughout the hearing, all three presidents lamented their schools’ responses to the pro-Palestinian encampments and how their universities have handled antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Republicans kept hammering the presidents with examples of property damaged during protests on their campuses or instances of students and professors who have allegedly engaged in antisemitic rhetoric.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) asked Robert Manuel, president of DePaul, why he allowed the encampment to go on for as long as it did on campus.
“I’m not asking what you learned. I’m asking why you made the decision, because I’m going to refer you to your policy that you have in place. Why didn’t you follow your policy?” McClain asked.
“Our immediate instinct was to work with our students,” Manuel said, with McClain following up, “How’d that go?”
“Not very well,” he conceded.
When Haverford President Wendy Raymond was questioned about why her school did not immediately condemn the Hamas attack, she said, “I would do it differently now. This is an example of a difficult period of learning where I did not get it right.”
Raymond garnered much of the Republicans’ attention after she refused to answer how many students have been suspended due to antisemitic activity and was vague on answers regarding what statements should lead to suspension or firings of students or faculty.
“I suppose it’s your First Amendment right to be evasive, but it’s also our right to decide that such institutions are not deserving of taxpayer money,” Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) told her.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said she was going to ask all the presidents her infamous question from an earlier antisemitism hearing on whether calls for the killing of all Jewish people would be acceptable on campus, but she ended up focusing on Raymond.
“No, of course not,” Raymond said before dodging Stefanik’s questions regarding disciplinary actions.
“Representative, I will not be talking about individual cases,” Raymond said before Stefanik noted threateningly that previous university presidents referring to the former heads of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania lost their jobs after their answers to the committee’s questions back in December 2023.
“Many people have sat in this position who are no longer in the positions as president of their universities for their failure to answer straightforward questions,” Stefanik said. “For the American people watching, you still don’t get it. Haverford still doesn’t get it. It’s a very different testimony than the other presidents who are here today, who are coming with specifics.”
Democrats, while condemning antisemitism, chastised Republicans for what they say are publicity efforts instead of working to solve the issue.
“All students have the right to learn in a safe environment free from discrimination, in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Unfortunately, instead of properly enforcing Title VI, this committee is holding the eighth hearing describing the problem and complaining about antisemitism on college campuses, instead of taking any meaningful action to actually solve the problem,” said ranking member Bobby Scott (D-Va.).
The Trump administration has taken billions of dollars away from universities it accuses of inaction on antisemitism, but the conditions it has so far listed to get federal funding restored have little to do with directly addressing the issue.
President Trump has told Harvard, which has so far lost $2.2 billion in federal funding, it will need to reform its hiring and admissions practices and get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts before funding will be restored.
“Moreover, instead of conducting investigations according to the law, the Trump administration has taken a sledgehammer to due process rights of institutions. The public has seen a barrage of reports of this administration taking action without any investigation,” Scott said.
