House Republicans are deploying their oversight powers to scrutinize pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism on college campuses, aiming to highlight the hot-button issue ahead of the November election.
The scale of the investigative efforts highlights the GOP’s eagerness to use the protests, which divide the Democratic Party and draw attention away from former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial, as a political cudgel. Johnson has led the charge, visiting Columbia University last week and blaming Democrats for unleashing what he called “lawlessness and chaos.”
“University leadership has lost complete control,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday, referring to protesters’ takeover of an academic building at Columbia. “It is a disgrace and it is untenable, and we as House Republicans will hold them to account.”
In the past week, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the chair of the House Education Committee, has told the heads of Yale University, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Michigan to testify on pro-Palestinian activism at their institutions. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has vowed to investigate universities for potential violations of the Civil Rights Act.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has called for a hearing next week on D.C.’s response to protests at George Washington University. And Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has sent letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking whether visas issued to students engaged in pro-Palestinian activity on college campuses should be revoked.
Following Johnson’s example, a handful of GOP lawmakers made a trek across Washington on Wednesday to hold a news conference at GWU’s pro-Palestinian encampment.
“I have seen signs here today: queer and trans folks for liberating Palestine; gays for Gaza; from the river to sea, Palestine will be free; lesbians for Palestine; Chinese for Palestine,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) yelled over jeering protesters and pro-Palestinian chants. “This is not only disgusting but let me be very clear, almost every single person in this so-called liberated zone would be eviscerated by the very terrorists you are standing here supporting.”
Shortly after the lawmakers’ appearance, the House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would require the Education Department to employ the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism to enforce anti-discrimination laws. The bill, introduced by Rep. Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.), was approved on a bipartisan basis — 320-91 — with a minority of Democrats and Republicans voting against the bill over concerns that it would infringe on Americans’ First Amendment rights.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he will “look for the best way to move forward” on the bill. A vote could come this month, his office told reporters.
But some Democrats view the overwhelming Republican support for the bill as emblematic of the GOP’s overtly political approach to the Israel-Gaza war. Though advocates of Lawler’s bill claim it will empower the federal government to crack down on anti-Israel protests, some Democrats complained that it lacked substance and provided no funding to combat antisemitism.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) voted for the measure but told reporters that he viewed it as a “gotcha” bill and would have preferred to see a more comprehensive proposal put forth by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) brought to the floor. Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who is running for the Senate, voted against the measure, saying in a statement that the bill not only could be used to limit free speech but also lacked “common sense critical steps” to stop antisemitism.
Manning’s proposal, Kim added, “doesn’t just condemn antisemitism, it takes critical actions such as establishing National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism at the White House, requiring law enforcement to coordinate on threat assessments on antisemitic violence, and ensuring the Nonprofit Security Grant Program is sufficiently funded.”
A Democratic House staffer also noted that Republicans have proposed a 25 percent cut to the Office of Civil Rights at the Education Department, the office tasked with adjudicating civil rights complaints on college campuses.
“It’s not enough,” added the staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue. “I don’t really care what dictionary the lawyers consult — I want actual resources dedicated to this problem.”
The GOP’s expanded scrutiny of university protests is part of a trend. Though their marquee investigations — a failed impeachment of Mayorkas and unsuccessful impeachment inquiry into the Biden family’s finances — are all but dead, House Republicans have scored political victories by aggressively probing elite higher education institutions. Last year, Stefanik’s questioning of three university presidents over their handling of antisemitism on campus sparked two resignations.
But prominent Democrats have attacked the GOP’s strategy as politically expedient and intellectually dishonest, saying that some MAGA adherents in the House routinely traffic in antisemitic rhetoric.
“We have to be really clear about the hypocrisy of what they have been doing around antisemitism before it came to this issue,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). “Even on free speech, these were the people who were talking about cancel culture and free speech on college campuses until it came to free speech they don’t like, so now all of a sudden, they’re on the opposite side.”
Democrats have walked a fine line, denouncing antisemitism and expressing their support for Israel while also voicing support for peaceful campus protests. On Thursday, Biden issued his most extensive comments to date on the demonstrations, warning students to avoid violence, property destruction and bigotry.
“Violent protest is not protected — peaceful protest is,” Biden said. “It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest.”
“Whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans, it’s simply wrong. There’s no place for racism in America. It’s all wrong, it’s un-American,” Biden added.
Mariana Alfaro and Abigail Hauslohner contributed to this report.
