Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced chants and boos from pro-Palestinian protesters who attempted to drown out House Republicans‘ speeches as they called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign over rising antisemitism on campus.
Johnson was joined by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) on Wednesday to blast Shafik for “failed” leadership and her inability to keep Jewish students safe on campus.
“I’m here to proclaim to all those who gnash their teeth and demand to wipe the State of Israel off the map and attack our innocent Jewish students this simple truth: Neither Israel, nor these Jewish students on this campus, will ever stand alone,” Johnson said during a press conference at the university.
While Johnson gave his speech, a large crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters were shouting, “We can’t hear you,” while others shouted “free Palestine” and anti-Israel chants.
“Enjoy your free speech,” Johnson said in response.
The members had met with Shafik and encouraged her to restore order, Johnson said, but they did not leave the meeting feeling confident that she would act accordingly.
“It is time for President Shafik to resign in disgrace,” Lawler said. “She has lost control of this campus. She has lost control of this institution. And after listening to her comments inside, it is clear that she has no intention of getting this university under control and ensuring the safety and well-being of every student.”
Johnson called the pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus lawn “detestable” and condemned Shafik and the university for allowing “lawless agitators and radicals to take over.”
“They place a target on the backs of Jewish students in the United States and here on this campus,” the speaker said of the protesters. “A growing number of students have chanted in support of terrorists. They’ve chased down Jewish students. They have mocked them and reviled them. They have shouted racial epithets. They have screamed at those who bear the Star of David.”
Other members condemned the “explosion” of antisemitism that has risen across hundreds of university campuses across the United States as a result of the war between Hamas and Israel, leading to clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators.
“The inmates are running the asylum,” Foxx said of Columbia’s protests. “Take back control of this once-great institution.”
D’Esposito spoke directly to the protesters, saying “you are part of the problem.” Lawler went even further to call the protesters a “pathetic embarrassment to this institution and to students everywhere.”
Other House members have traveled to Columbia this week to condemn the rise in antisemitism. While not directly calling for Shafik’s resignation, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) warned Shafik to look at the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who resigned over their handling of campus antisemitism, as examples of “what not to do.”
“There’s one theme that keeps coming up over and over again, which is the double standard,” Moskowitz said of his conversations with Jewish parents. “They know, and you know, deep down, if this was any minority group, this wouldn’t be happening. It wouldn’t have gotten this far, but because it’s Jews, we’ve fallen into this weird category: Oh, we’re not protected.”
Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week have called on President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to Columbia and other colleges. Johnson said at the conference that he planned on calling Biden after they left Columbia and “share with him what we have seen with our own two eyes.”
The speaker will “demand that he take action.”
“There is executive authority that’d be appropriate. If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” Johnson said.
“We have to bring order to these campuses,” Johnson continued. “We cannot allow this to happen around the country. We are better than this. We are better than this. And I’ll ask the president to do that, and I will tell him that very same thing.”
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Not all political figures were supportive of Johnson and the House Republicans’ visit to campus on Wednesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) told reporters that Johnson is only sowing more division with his speech on Columbia’s campus.
“I think politicizing this and bringing the entourage to put a spotlight on this is only adding to the division,” Hochul said, according to Politico. “A speaker worth the title should really be trying to heal people and not divide them, so I don’t think it adds to anything.”
