“She has lost control of her campus”: House Speaker Mike Johnson calls on Columbia University president to step down.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday officially called on Columbia University’s president to resign over her handling of on-campus protests over the war in Gaza, amid allegations of antisemitism and dangers to Jewish students.

“After I met with the president, [Minouche] Shafik, it was clear that she has lost control of her campus and she needs to step down,” the Louisiana Republican said at an afternoon news conference about antisemitism. “The first and most obvious responsibility of a university administrator is to ensure the safety and security of their students. If an administrator cannot ensure that, they have missed their first assignment. We need to find people who can do that.”

Johnson last Wednesday said Shafik should resign if “she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos.” Since then, the on-campus pro-Palestinian encampment has continued and expanded: Protesters early Tuesday took over Hamilton Hall, which is home to some administrative offices, after the university on Monday started suspending students for not clearing out the encampment. The university has since closed the campus, except for essential employees and students who live in a dorm.