Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) of the House Education and the Workforce Committee has called on the heads of Yale University, UCLA, and the University of Michigan to testify before her panel in May as part of a new House-wide investigation into antisemitism in the U.S. The move comes as part of a broader effort by Republican leaders to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced a chamber-wide effort to address the growing concern of antisemitism, with multiple committee chairs in attendance to detail their contributions to the investigation.
Foxx’s Education Committee has already held several hearings on campus antisemitism, with the North Carolina congresswoman criticizing university heads for their response to the issue since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Virginia Foxx (Credits: The Hill)
Foxx warned that university leaders will be held accountable for their actions, stating, “Congress will not tolerate your dereliction of duty to your Jewish students. American universities are officially put on notice that we have come to take our universities back.”
She added that Yale, UCLA, and Michigan have been summoned to appear before the Education and Workforce Committee on May 23 to discuss their handling of recent antisemitic incidents.
The House-wide effort and new hearing come as Columbia University protesters have taken over a building on campus, barricading themselves inside until school administrators meet their demands to divest from Israel.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) emphasized that Republican leadership is scrutinizing the billions of federal taxpayer dollars allocated to universities and threatened to withdraw funding if schools fail to address antisemitism on their campuses.
GOP Education chair (Credits: The Hill)
Johnson expressed concern that universities are not inviting police to intervene in campus protests, which is one of the policy changes Republicans are seeking. He warned that if universities do not take action, Congress will respond by cutting funding and holding them accountable.
The Education Committee has previously held hearings on college antisemitism, interrogating the presidents of Harvard, UPenn, MIT, and Columbia.
The first hearing with Harvard, UPenn, and MIT made international headlines and became the most-watched House hearing ever after the presidents suggested that calls for the genocide of Jewish students might be considered harassment depending on the context.
