Johnson launches House-wide probes into campus antisemitism
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday announced he is expanding the investigations into antisemitism on college campuses across several committees.
Johnson is billing the efforts as a House-wide crackdown on antisemitism, especially as pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitic incidents have been roiling college campuses since Hamas’ October attack on Israel.
“Antisemitism is a virus and because the administration and woke university presidents aren't stepping in, we're seeing it spread,” Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference, adding that “nearly every committee here has a role to play in these efforts to stop the madness that has ensued.”
Since January, House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has launched at least six antisemitism investigations into Rutgers University, the University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.
Foxx, who was also at the press conference with other GOP leaders and a handful of committee chairs, announced an antisemitism hearing scheduled for next month. She is planning to haul the college presidents of Yale University, the University of Michigan and the University of California, Los Angeles to Capitol Hill on May 23 to testify on their efforts to address protests and antisemitism on campus.
Johnson said additional probes would also be launched by more committees, including Energy and Commerce, Oversight, Judiciary, Ways and Means and Science, Space and Technology. Majority Leader Steve Scalise said leadership is asking committee chairs to “look into the billions of federal taxpayer dollars that go to these universities.”
The committee leaders said they want to scrutinize student visas of foreign students engaged in protests, research grants that universities receive, university tax-exempt status, foreign funding and gifts, and funding behind the protests on campus.
Johnson reemphasized his call for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to step down over her handling of a tense stand-off with student protesters that has been ongoing for nearly two weeks. The students are protesting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and are urging the university to divest from Israel.
Johnson, along with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), has called on the Biden administration to pull federal funding from the institution. The speaker also called on President Joe Biden to visit Columbia.
Johnson said he wants college leaders to take control of the protests, end the encampments and occupation of buildings, and allow law enforcement “to do their job and bring order to the chaos.”
“Those are the policy changes that we’re demanding. If they don't correct this quickly, you will see Congress respond in time,” Johnson said. “You're gonna see funding sources begin to dry up. You're gonna see every level of accountability that we can muster.”
